Scoville Splice Β· Platform
Eight Modalities
The Iyengar Flavor Index places heat, sweetness, umami, bitterness, kokumi, cool-burn, pungency, and astringency on a single quantitative scale β and lets us engineer any of them into any crop.
8
IFI Modalities
1,600
Consumer Products
8,000
Commercial Constructs
7
Receptor Families
Eight Modalities
Heat
The original. TRPV1-mediated thermal sensation, from near-zero to beyond pure capsaicin. 200 consumer constructs, 1,000 commercial.
200
Consumer
1,000
Commercial
Sweet
TAS1R2/TAS1R3 heterodimer engineering. Sweetness intensity from 1.2Γ to 8Γ baseline. Natural sweetener augmentation, reduced-sugar formulation.
200
Consumer
1,000
Commercial
Umami
Dual-axis umami engineering. TAS1R1/TAS1R3 + mGluR1 co-modulation for 1.5Γ to 12Γ MSG-equivalent intensity.
200
Consumer
1,000
Commercial
Zero-Bitter
TAS2R38 suppression and glucosinolate pathway attenuation in brassica crops. 20β95% bitter perception reduction β making broccoli, kale, and cabbage broadly palatable.
200
Consumer
1,000
Commercial
Kokumi
Calcium-sensing receptor engineering for kokumi mouthfulness. Ξ³-Glutamyl peptide pathway amplification in allium crops and beyond.
200
Consumer
1,000
Commercial
Cool Burn
Biphasic thermal sensation: simultaneous TRPM8 cooling and TRPV1 heat in a single construct. TRPM8/TRPV1 ratios from 0.3 to 2.5.
200
Consumer
1,000
Commercial
TRPA1 Pungent
TRPA1 channel activation via allyl isothiocyanate and mustard-analog electrophilic compounds. Sharp, nasal-clearing pungency distinct from capsaicin heat.
200
Consumer
1,000
Commercial
Astringency
Controlled proanthocyanidin and condensed tannin biosynthesis. LAR/ANR/DFR pathway engineering for precise astringency from 50 to 2,000 mg/L in grapes, sorghum, and tea.
200
Consumer
1,000
Commercial
The Framework
About the IFI
The Iyengar Flavor Index places all eight sensory axes on a single quantitative scale. Every score is computed by the same formula:
IFI(c, m) = 1,000 Γ ECβ β(ref) / ECβ β(c)
IFI = 1,000 matches the reference compound Β· higher = more potent
Each subscale has a reference compound with a defined ECβ β. A construct is scored relative to that reference β a score of 2,000 on IFI-H means twice the TRPV1 activation of pure capsaicin.
| Subscale | Receptor(s) | Reference Compound | ECβ β |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFI-HHeat | TRPV1 | Capsaicin | 3.16 nM |
| IFI-SSweet | TAS1R2/TAS1R3 | Sucrose (2%) | 34.2 mM |
| IFI-UUmami | TAS1R1/TAS1R3 + mGluR1 | MSG (0.1%) | 820 Β΅M |
| IFI-BZero-Bitter | TAS2R38 (suppression) | PTC | 1.2 Β΅M |
| IFI-KKokumi | CaSR | Ξ³-Glu-Val-Gly | 48 nM |
| IFI-CCool Burn | TRPM8 + TRPV1 | Menthol (cooling) + Capsaicin (heat) | 78 Β΅M (composite) |
| IFI-PTRPA1 Pungent | TRPA1 | Allyl isothiocyanate | 56 Β΅M |
| IFI-AAstringency | Polyphenol-astringency axis | Tannic acid (1%) | 1,100 Β΅g/mL |
Why Receptor-Normalized?
IFI vs SHU for cross-modality comparison
The Scoville scale (SHU) is a dilution ratio for capsaicin concentration β it measures a single compound at a single receptor and only captures TRPV1-mediated heat. It cannot compare heat to sweetness, or umami depth to kokumi richness, because those perceptions arise from entirely different receptor systems with different binding kinetics and different dose-response curves. IFI solves this by normalizing every modality to a reference ECβ β: an IFI score of 1,000 always means βequivalent potency to the defining reference compound at this receptor,β regardless of the underlying biology. This makes it possible to state, rigorously, that a construct increases umami by 4Γ relative to baseline MSG while reducing bitterness by 80% and adding a kokumi mouthfulness score of 1,500 β all on the same numeric scale. SHU gives you one axis; IFI gives you eight.
Coming Next
Full-Spectrum Designed Products
Products engineered across all 7 IFI axes simultaneously. Zero-bitter broccoli. Umami-amplified tomato. Sweet kokumi onion. Cool-burn pepper with an added freshness layer. Coming in the next edition.