24 Aug 2024 The buzz without the booze

Here’s an interesting approach to creating novel non-alcoholic drinks by replicating the calming sensation induced by those first few sips of alcohol…

Unlike other non-alcoholic beverage brands, UK-based SENTIA was conceived to replicate the calming effects of alcohol — not the taste.

SENTIA’s alcohol-free drinks tap a proprietary blend of food-approved herbs to target and enhance the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system in the brain. GABA is a neurotransmitter that inhibits nerve activity by thwarting the nervous system’s cells’ ability to send and receive signals — thus, producing a calming effect.

Traditional alcohol, too, affects the brain’s GABA system.

“The prime effect of alcohol in the brain that most people are seeking, which is relaxation and conviviality, is mediated through the neurotransmitter called GABA,” says David Nutt (left), SENTIA co-founder, professor and neuropsychopharmacologist. “Alcohol calms you because it enhances the effect of GABA.”

As an expert on the ways alcohol interacts with the body and brain, Prof Nutt realised that it could be possible to isolate the mechanism we associate with the desirable effects of alcohol — relaxation, increased sociability, improved mood — from the negative effects.

“Up till SENTIA, alcoholic alternatives have essentially been drinks that mimic the look of alcohol but don’t have a functional effect,” Nutt explains.

Whilst initially focused on a purely synthetic alternative to alcohol, Professor Nutt and the team at GABAlabs decided to look for viable compounds in nature.

Not just an alcohol or alcohol-free drink, but a great tasting, effective, alcohol alternative designed for all of us to come together to savour those moments. What many of us want from alcohol, without the alcohol. SENTIA website

SENTIA starts with selecting the best functional herbs to produce the desired calming effect of the beverage. “Then add to those herbs other herbs to improve taste,” he says.

SENTIA uses a “three-tier” approach, or three groups of herbs, to create its functional calming effect. One group of herbs enhances the effects of GABA in the brain, another group facilitates the uptake of the functional herbs into the stomach, and the third group facilitates the transfer of the GABA-enhancing molecules from the blood into the brain, Nutt explains.

“Then, of course, you’ve got the challenge of the taste,” he says. Herbs can add bitter and other undesirable flavours, making taste a notable hurdle. That’s especially true in natural formulations like SENTIA.

In addition to functional herbs, SENTIA uses herbs for flavour and colour.

Red and Black

SENTIA is available in two varieties: GABA Red and GABA Black. GABA Red’s taste is described as “sweet heady aromatics, rich herbal complexity, bittersweet spiced berries.” GABA Black’s taste is described as “spiced pepper warmth, intense, earthy body and smoky bitter finish.”

Prof Nutt notes that SENTIA’s taste is “exotic,” “interesting” and “distinct.”

While SENTIA was not developed to mimic the taste of an alcoholic drink, Prof Nutt mentions vermouth as its closest taste counterpart. The beverages are marketed to encourage consumers to drink them with mixers.

Source: Food & Beverage Insider, SENTIA