Synergistic Effect of Specific Volatile Sulfur Compounds in Durians with Sucrose: Mechanistic Insights from Sensory and Sweet Taste Receptor Binding Molecular Dynamics

Growing demand for sugar-reduced foods necessitates a deeper understanding of odor-induced sweetness enhancement. This study explored durian-derived volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) as sucrose potentiators through integrated SPME-GC/MS, sensory evaluation, and computational analyses. GC/O-AT, recombination, and omission experiments identified 10 key VSCs associated with ‘sweet’ prioritized for investigation. Sensory evaluation identified optimal sucrose concentration (30 g/L) for sweetness amplification, particularly with S -ethyl ethanethioate and dipropyl disulfide showing significant enhancement, while dimethyl trisulfide suppressed sweetness. Molecular docking revealed stable binding of sweet-enhancing VSCs to T1R2/T1R3-sucrose complexes (−9.811 to −8.274 kcal/mol), mediated by hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions in the Venus flytrap domain. Molecular dynamics confirmed that dipropyl disulfide stabilized receptor–ligand binding through multifaceted interactions. It was found that the binding energy has a certain correlation with the perceived intensity. Future research should integrate cross-modal sensory and molecular biology approaches to optimize low-sugar flavor compensation strategies.