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PubMed1994

Perceptual interactions in mixtures containing bitter tasting substances.

Mixtures of Quinine HCl and NaCl elicit heterogeneous taste percepts. Each such percept consists of a bitter and a salt sensation. Using functional measurement in combination with a two-stimulus procedures, it was found that the NaCl suppresses the QHCl bitterness and that QHCl has almost no suppressive effect on NaCl saltiness. In addition, it was shown that the total intensity of the mixture percept is almost identical to the sum of the intensities of the bitterness and saltiness sensations-within-the-percept. As was found in earlier experiments with mixtures of other tastants, central sensory integration within a heterogeneous percept seems to be a fairly simple additive process.

Adult↗

PubMed1976

A history of sweeteners--natural and synthetic.

Sweetness for the prehistoric man was the taste sensation obtained from sweet berries and honey. Man's quest for other sweet things led to sucose, starch-derived sugars, and synthetic sweeteners. An unusual source of sweet taste is a West African berry known as miracle fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum). This fruit possesses a taste-modifying substance that causes sour foods--e.g., lemons, limes, or grapefruit--to taste sweet. The active principle was found to be a glycoprotein. Until this time, only small molecules were considered sweet-evoking substances, but now macromolecules are considered capable of participating in taste perception. The intense sweetener of the fruit of Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii, called the serendipity berry, was revealed to be a protein. The intensely sweet principle of Thaumatococcus daniellii, called katemfe, was reported in 1972 to contain two proteins having intense sweetness. Since intensely sweet protein sweeteners act directly on taste buds as a probe, a peptide linkage analogous to the aspartic acid sweeteners may be partly responsible for their sweetness.

History of Medicine↗

PubMed2002

Evidence that taste buds are not present on the human adult uvula.

We conducted a study to investigate whether taste buds are present on the human adult uvula. Our impetus was to determine whether surgical procedures that involve removal of the uvula can affect taste perception. Five human uvulae were removed via a modified carbon dioxide laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty in an outpatient office setting. The uvulae were serially sectioned and stained with a solution specific for membrane-bound calcium-modulated adenosine triphosphatase, a high concentration of which is found in taste receptors. Examination of the stained sections under light microscopy failed to show that any taste receptors were present in any of the uvulae. This finding suggests that the taste disturbances noted after surgical procedures involving removal of the uvula are not attributable to a loss of taste receptors.

Adult↗

PubMed1985

Methyl xanthines enhance taste: evidence for modulation of taste by adenosine receptor.

The methyl xanthines (MX), theophylline, caffeine, and theobromine, are potent antagonists of adenosine receptors. Adaptation of the human tongue to methyl xanthines at concentrations ranging from 10(-5) M to 10(-2) M was found to potentiate taste. The artificial sweetener acesulfam-K, which has a bitter component, was potentiated the most by MX, i.e., approximately 100%. This increase in perceived intensity for acesulfam-K occurred at 10(-5) M MX, a concentration known to inhibit adenosine receptors but below that required to inhibit phosphodiesterase. Increasing the concentration of MX as high as 10(-2) M did not increase the degree of enhancement appreciably. Taste enhancement was found for NaCl and quinine hydrochloride as well. When 10(-5) M adenosine was added to the MX, the potentiation was reversed. The human results were confirmed by animal studies in which single unit extracellular recordings were made from the nucleus of the solitary tract. These results suggest that the inhibitory A1 adenosine receptor plays an important local role in taste perception.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗

PubMed2026

Predicting food taste with bound-driven optimization.

The prediction of sensory attributes from ingredient-level formulations is an emerging challenge at the intersection of food science and artificial intelligence. We address the fundamental question of whether the taste of a food can be predicted from its ingredients by treating recipes as composite materials. We apply Hashin-Shtrikman (HS) and Reuss-Voigt (RV) bounds, techniques originally developed for elastic moduli, as a null-hypothesis additive baseline for five taste dimensions (sweetness, sourness, bitterness, umami, saltiness) on a curated dataset of 70 recipes decomposed into 115 distinct ingredients scored against a library of 209 ingredient-level taste references with trained-panel ground truth. This baseline systematically under-predicts perceived taste: 77% of actual taste values exceeded the HS upper bound, with the exceedance rate ranging from 26% (bitterness) to 97% (saltiness). We traced this gap to specific processing chemistry (Maillard reactions, caramelization, evaporative concentration, protein hydrolysis, and nucleotide synergy) and introduced a hybrid model that augments the HS baseline with eight chemistry-proxy features encoding these mechanisms. Our results show that our interpretable hybrid model eliminates the systematic bias and reduces mean absolute error by 27%-62% for sweetness, sourness, umami, and saltiness while using only 10 interpretable features, achieving performance comparable to a black-box Lasso regression on 115 per-ingredient features. We further demonstrate constrained inverse design via Differential Evolution, recovering ingredient formulations that match target taste profiles subject to compositional bounds. Our work demonstrates how key chemical processes during food preparation can inform and augment physics-based and machine learning models, providing a quantitative fingerprint of processing chemistry's contribution to taste perception and paving the way for model-driven food formulation with targeted sensory characteristics.

Composite material bounds↗

PubMed1996

Spontaneous resolution of dysgeusia.

BACKGROUND: Dysgeusia, distortion of taste perception, is a debilitating disorder that affects thousands of Americans. Presently, most forms of dysgeusia are considered to be untreatable, and no data are available for counseling patients on the probability of recovery. OBJECTIVE: To examine the probability of resolution of symptoms among patients with dysgeusia who were evaluated at the University of Pennsylvania Smell and Taste Center, Philadelphia, from January 1989 to December 1994. DESIGN: In this retrospective study, 117 patients with primary complaints of dysgeusia were initially identified from a population of 429 patients with smell and taste disorders who were seen during this period. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-eight patients agreed to participate. Each patient completed a telephone interview and a questionnaire that contained a dysgeusia severity rating scale, medical health questions, and the Beck Depression Inventory. RESULTS: Two thirds of the patients experienced spontaneous resolution of the dysgeusia, with the average duration being 10 months. A distinct relationship between the resolution of dysgeusia and depression was identified. CONCLUSION: These findings, along with the evidence that some dysgeusias are treatable, bode well for a disorder that was heretofore considered by many physicians as unrelenting.

Aged↗

PubMed2026

Genome-Wide Association Analyses of Bitter Food Preferences Link Genetic Loci to Sensory and Metabolic Pathways.

BACKGROUND: Genetic variation is implicated in individual preferences for bitter-tasting foods. However, previous studies have focused on candidate genes and limited varieties of bitter-tasting foods and have treated food preference scale responses as continuous data. OBJECTIVES: The present investigation aimed to identify genetic variants associated with preferences for bitter-tasting foods using ordinal multinomial regression models in genome-wide association studies (GWAS). In addition, post-GWAS functional annotation and mapping, genetic correlations, and associations with dietary intake were examined. METHODS: Food preference and genome-wide genotyping data were used from the UK Biobank (n = 125,578). Preference data from Likert scale rankings (from 1 to 9) for 12 individual foods were analyzed using ordinal multinomial regression GWAS. In addition, 1 composite continuous variable was created for preference for cruciferous vegetables as a group and analyzed using a linear mixed-model GWAS to enable the calculation of a polygenic score (PGS) for cruciferous vegetable preference. Convergent validity of GWAS results was assessed with dietary intake data for the same food items in the CARTaGENE cohort (n = 8176). Post-GWAS gene-level and pathway-level association analyses were conducted in MAGMA (Multimarker Analysis of GenoMic Annotation). RESULTS: Forty-six single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified for preferences for 11 bitter-tasting foods at a genome-wide significance level (P < 7.14 × 10-9). Gene-set analysis for enrichment identified pathways related to caffeine metabolism and bitter taste perception for preference of coffee without sugar and grapefruit, respectively. Genes with higher expression in brain tissues showed stronger genetic associations with cruciferous vegetable preference. The PGS for cruciferous vegetable preference was weakly correlated with intake (r = 0.05, P < 0.0001), but individual SNPs were not associated with intake in a consistent manner. CONCLUSIONS: Genetic variation contributes to preferences for bitter-tasting foods among adults, and some links with food intake are detectable. Nevertheless, effect sizes are small and inconsistent, reflecting the multifactorial complexity of food intake.

bitter taste↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Sweetening agents from natural sources.

Sweetness is an important taste sensation to humans. The absence of suitable sweeteners as alternatives to cyclamates and saccharin has led to a renewed interest in sweeteners form natural sources. A brief review of the history of sweetener usage provides a basis for understanding our present heavy consumption of sweet substances. The structure of naturally-occurring compounds possessing a sweet taste range from simple sugars to complex, intensely sweet proteins. The structural types include monoterpenes, diterpenes, triterpenes, flavonoids, steroid saponins, dipeptides, and proteins. Some of these substances are not, strictly-speaking, natural but are derived from natural sources by relatively minor chemical modification. The properties of two non-sweet substances, miraculin and gymnemic acid, are included because of their close relationship to the subject of sweeteners. Miraculin causes sour substances to taste sweet and gymnemic acid selectively blocks sweet taste perception. The second part of the paper presents some of the work on monellin, the intensely sweet protein from "serendipity berries" (Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii). The physico-chemical studies of monellin provide convincing evidence that it is, indeed, a protein. Structural studies using denaturants and specific chemical modifications have provided a beginning of our understanding of the molecular basis of the sweet taste of monellin.

Chemical Phenomena↗

PubMed1998

Functional lateralization of human gustatory cortex related to handedness disclosed by fMRI study.

Ten healthy subjects aged 20-25 including five right-handed and five left-handed according to the Dellatolas test participated in this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study. A 3 Tesla whole-body MR scanner allowed echo planar imaging (EPI)-64 x 64 pixels, repetition time (TR) = 6 s, field of view (FOV) = 20 x 20 cm2--associated to acute anatomical localization of activated foci (256 x 256 pixels). Subjects were bilaterally stimulated with NaCl 85 mM, aspartame 2 mM, quinine hydrochloride 1 mM, glycyrrhizic acid 0.5 mM, guanosine monophosphate 1 mM and D-threonine 250 mM alternating with water. Stimuli and rinse were continuously pushed as bolus of 50 microliters every 3 s to the subject's mouth through microsyringes. We detected brain activated areas by correlation of the MR signal to an on-line perception profile recorded for each experiment and each subject with the finger-span method. We found most activations in the insula and the perisylvian region in agreement with previous electrophysiological studies on monkeys and clinical reports in humans. The superior part of the insula was bilaterally activated, in accordance with a whole-mouth stimulation. A striking lateralization related to handedness was found in a lower part of the insula. This projection in the dominant hemisphere, located in the same coronal plane as the upper insular activation, is the first evidence of a functional lateralization of brain processing involved in taste perception.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Three sweet receptor genes are clustered in human chromosome 1.

A search of the human genome database led us to identify three human candidate taste receptors, hT1R1, hT1R2, and hT1R3, which contain seven transmembrane domains. All three genes map to a small region of Chromosome (Chr) 1. This region is syntenous to the distal end of Chr 4 in mouse, which contains the Sac (saccharin preference) locus that is involved in detecting sweet tastants. A genetic marker, DVL1, which is linked to the Sac locus, is within 1700 bp of human T1R3. Recently, the murine T1Rs and its human ortholog have been independently identified in combination as sweet and umami receptors near the Sac locus. All three hT1Rs genes are expressed selectively in human taste receptor cells in the fungiform papillae, consistent with their role in taste perception.

Alleles↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Dysgeusias].

This is a review of multiple pathologic conditions associated with altered taste perception and identification. We stated the steps and the molecular basis of this sense. This paper includes two cases that exemplify two distinct types of dysgeusia; case, 1 a 48 year old man who had clinical manifestations of hypogeusia and dysgeusia for one year, probably secondary to air pollutants. Case 2, a 37 year old man who worked in the same factory and also had dysgeusia; we concluded that it was secondary to thermal and chemical agression of the oropharynx; his plasma and urinary levels of zinc were normal. Many medications and contaminants of air and water are related with changes in serum and urine levels of zinc, which is a determinant at several levels for the correct integration of the taste system. Namely it is important for synthesis of the metalloprotein, gustin, a parotid gland protein secreted into saliva, which in turns is very important to make union of the sapid substance (SS) with its receptor in the surface of the gustatory epithelium a the taste buds. Zinc is also related with neurotransmission of the electrical stimulus generated in the bud cell and ending in the central nervous system. There is an acute zinc loss syndrome, seen in patients treated with histidine, which simulates the steps in which taste sensation is integrated. A clinical approach for diagnosis of hypogeusic or dysgeusic patients must include a careful evaluation of the diat elements, an assesment of hereditary disorders, the type of work and contact with pollutants known to be related with dysgeusia. A special care regarding physical examination must be considered in particular a meticulous review of the oropharynx in order to diagnose inflammatory, neoplastic or neurological disorders. The levels of perception an identification of flavors: sweet, bitter, sour and salt, must be determined using the forced scale triple choice technic. Serum and urinary levels of zinc should be determined in each patient using a flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometer. A quantification of the activity of leucocyte alkaline phosphatase, a zinc metalloenzyme, is a useful aid, liver function tests. 13 and 14 determinations and serum protein electrophoresis are mandatory because many pathologic states of these organ systems are known to be related with disorders of taste. We wish to remark the important function of zinc in the taste system, the role of essential trace elements is receiving increased atention and these alterations are good examples of their clinical importance.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

The effect of (-)-hydroxycitrate on energy intake and satiety in overweight humans.

OBJECTIVE: Assessment of the effects of 2 weeks of daily administration of HCA on energy intake and satiety in overweight men and women. DESIGN: A 6-week randomized placebo-controlled single-blinded cross-over trial. SUBJECTS: consumed three times daily for 2 weeks 100 ml tomato juice (placebo) and, separated by a 2 week wash-out period, 100 ml tomato juice with 300 mg HCA.Subjects: Twelve males and 12 females (body mass index 27.5+/-2.0 kg/m(2); age 37+/-10 y). MEASUREMENTS: After 2 weeks, 24 h energy intake (EI), appetite profile, hedonics, mood and possible change in dietary restraint were assessed in the laboratory restaurant. Prevention of degradation and bio-availability was documented. RESULTS: Twenty-four-hour EI was decreased by 15-30% (P<0.05) with HCA treatment compared to placebo, without changes in the appetite profile, dietary restraint, mood, taste perception and hedonics, while body weight tended to decrease (P=0.1). CONCLUSION: HCA treatment reduced 24 h EI in humans while satiety was sustained.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Oral manifestations of drug therapy.

The oral cavity may be the target organ for a number of diverse abnormalities that develop from side effects of medications. Because of the widespread and increasing use of prescription, over-the-counter, and herbal remedies, it is becoming increasingly likely that the dentist will encounter soft tissue or dental pathologies that represent a complication of a therapeutic agent. The more common abnormalities that may occur include gingival hyperplasia, tooth discoloration, candidiasis, chemical injuries, and altered taste perception. The dental practitioner is often the primary health care provider who can recognize, diagnose, treat, and/or prevent these conditions.

Burns, Chemical↗

PubMed1998

Effect of psychotropic drugs on taste responses in young and elderly persons.

The taste of six psychotropic drugs (amitriptyline HCl, clomipramine HCl, desipramine HCl, imipramine HCl, doxepin HCl, and trifluoperazine HCl) can be detected at concentrations of 0.1 mM or less in both young and elderly individuals. At concentrations 4 times higher than the detection thresholds, these drugs have bitter as well as other unpleasant taste properties. Oral exposure to these drugs not only induces a taste from the drug itself but also alters taste perception of other compounds such as NaCl and sucrose. These results indicate that both hypogeusia and dysgeusia may be induced by psychotropic medications.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A randomized study of ondansetron syrup in children: evaluation of taste acceptability and tolerance.

Ondansetron, a highly selective 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, is available in an intravenous (IV) formulation and tables, but syrup would be particularly useful in children. As chemotherapy can affect taste perceptions, this study was undertaken to determine the preference between two flavors of ondansetron syrup in children undergoing chemotherapy. Fifty-nine children, randomized into a multicenter, double-blind, crossover study, each received 5 mg/m2 of IV ondansetron daily before chemotherapy. The syrup was then randomly given in two doses, one of each flavor, strawberry and grape, 30 minutes apart. The preference was assessed 30 minutes after the second dose of syrup had been administered. Taste was assessed by the child against a panel of five faces. Of those children expressing any preference, 70% preferred the strawberry flavor. Overall, 59% of children preferred the strawberry flavor, whilst 25% preferred grape (P = 0.005) and 15% expressed no preference. The only adverse event assessed as drug related by the investigator was constipation, which occurred in one patient. In conclusion, a strong preference was found for the strawberry formulation. The ondansetron syrup was safe and well tolerated.

Antiemetics↗

PubMed2002

Habitual meal frequency and energy intake regulation in partially temporally isolated men.

OBJECTIVE: Assessment of a possible relationship between habitual as well as manipulated meal frequency, blood glucose pattern, macronutrient- and energy intake (EI), and energy intake regulation in partially temporally isolated men. DESIGN: A partially temporally isolated within-subject design assessing energy intake regulation in spite of intervention. Intervention consisted of manipulating meal frequency by offering iso-energetic (1 MJ) preloads high in fat or carbohydrate (CHO), with the same energy density. We have previously shown that after a high-CHO preload, inter-meal-interval was 1 h, while after a high-fat preload intermeal-interval was 2 h. SUBJECTS: Twenty healthy young (18-31 y) normal weight (body mass index (BMI): 22.8+/-1.9 kg/m(2)) men. MEASUREMENTS: On two separate days, each after a different preload: subsequent subjects' responses to the preload, eg manipulated meal frequency; continuous blood glucose levels and blood glucose patterns: macronutrient composition of food intake; EI; appetite ratings; and taste perception. From controlled 3-day food intake diaries: habitual meal frequency; EI; and macronutrient-intake. RESULTS: Accuracy of energy intake regulation is expressed as minimizing the difference in energy intake, despite intervention. The difference in 24 h EI on the two test days after the preloads (r(2)=0.56; P<0.001) was a function of habitual meal frequency. Variation in energy intake was primarily explained by habitual meal frequency (r(2)=0.76; P<0.0001). Adding macronutrient composition and number of blood glucose declines to this increased the explained variation to 86 and 96%, respectively. Percentage energy from CHO or from fat explained the variation in habitual meal frequency (r(2)=0.84; P<0.0001). Adding the total number of blood-glucose declines to this increased the explained variation to 88%, and adding average baseline blood glucose levels, sweetness perception and hunger suppression during preload consumption increased the explained variation to 91%. Manipulated meal frequency was related to habitual meal frequency (r(2)=0.86; P<0.0001) and was a function of the number of transient and dynamic blood glucose declines (r(2)=0.74; P<0.0001). CONCLUSION: Habitual meal frequency is of greater significance in energy intake regulation in healthy young men than manipulated meal frequency. Healthy young men with a high habitual meal frequency showed lower 24 h EI, and a smaller difference in EI after macronutrient specific preloads, compared to those with a low habitual meal frequency, thus showing a more accurate energy intake regulation. Habitual meal frequency is based upon a cluster of related factors including macronutrient composition of the food, sweetness perception, hunger suppression, blood glucose declines and average baseline blood glucose levels.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed1984

Effects of cigarette smoke and nicotine on feeding and energy.

Much evidence has accumulated indicating that cigarette smokers weigh less than non-smokers and that smokers gain weight when they cease smoking. In the present study we evaluated the effects of cigarette smoke and nicotine on food intake, weight gain, resting energy output, brown fat mass and opiate binding (opiates initiate feeding in sated rats) in rats. Chronic smoke exposure slightly suppressed growth rate and food intake after 14 days of smoke exposure. Blood glucose levels and intrascapular brown adipose mase were increased as a result of smoke exposure. Hamsters chronically exposed to cigarette smoke decreased body weight; however, food intake was not significantly suppressed. Short term (5 day) exposure to nicotine (4 and 2 mg/kg/day) suppressed growth rate and food intake. Nicotine (4 and 2 mg/kg) significantly suppressed water ingestion in water-deprived rats and altered the quantities of flavored solutions ingested by rats compared with those ingested by rats receiving no nicotine. Thus cigarette smoke and nicotine exposure affects food intake, energy utilization and taste perception; all parameters which contribute to overall body mass; however, these parameters change in a complex manner with only small changes occurring at specific time intervals.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Gustatory nervous pathway syndromes].

Although the lingual nerve and the chorda tympani are the components of the classic peripheral gustatory pathway, loss of taste in patients after surgery for trigeminal neuralgia supports for the existence of an accessory gustatory pathway through the trigeminal sensory root and the gasserian ganglion. Bell's palsy is the most common pathology of the peripheral gustatory pathway. The central gustatory pathway ascends from the solitary tract nucleus in the medulla up to the upper pons in the ipsilateral central tegmental tract, rather than in the medial lemniscus as proposed in the past. It is not possible to specify whether the central gustatory pathway decussates or not at the lower midbrain level. Interruption of the gustatory pathway in the brainstem usually occurs with stroke or demyelination. The thalamic gustatory relay is located in the most medial aspect of the ventroposteromedial nucleus, immediately adjacent to the somatosensory area for the oral cavity and fingers. Therefore, ageusia associated with the sensory cheiro-oral syndrome may occur with a thalamic lesion. The laterality of the gustatory representation in the thalamus remains unresolved. Studies on epileptic gustatory aura have demonstrated that the insula and the anteromedial temporal lobe are the primary and secondary gustatory cortex, respectively. Taste perception results in patients with corpus callosum section and strokes or tumors involving the insula support the hypothesis that there is a gustatory representation of both hemitongues in the left cerebral hemisphere, whereas only the right hemitongue is represented in the right hemisphere.

Afferent Pathways↗