Taste (or, more formally, gustation) is a form of direct chemoreception and is one of the traditional five senses. It refers to the ability to detect the flavor of substances such as food and poisons. In humans and many other vertebrate animals the sense of taste partners with the less direct sense of smell, in the brain's perception of flavor. Classical taste sensations include sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. More recently, psychophysicists and neuroscientists have suggested other taste categories (umami and fatty acid taste most prominently.) A Chemosensor, also known as chemoreceptor, is a cell or group of cells that transduce a chemical signal into an action potential. ... This article is about the senses of living organisms (vision, taste, etc. ... For other uses, see Poison (disambiguation). ... Olfaction (also known as olfactics) refers to the sense of smell. ... This article is about flavor as a sensory impression. ... Psychophysics is a subdiscipline of psychology dealing with the relationship between physical stimuli and their subjective correlates, or percepts. ... Drawing of the cells in the chicken cerebellum by S. Ramón y Cajal Neuroscience is a field that is devoted to the scientific study of the nervous system. ... Human taste sensory organs, called taste buds or gustatory calyculi, and concentrated on the upper surface of the tongue, appear to be receptive to relatively few chemical species as tastes. ... Not to be confused with fats. ...

Taste is a sensory function of the central nervous system. The receptor cells for taste in humans are found on the surface of the tongue, along the soft palate, and in the epithelium of the pharynx and epiglottis. A diagram showing the CNS: 1. ... For other uses, see Tongue (disambiguation). ... The soft palate, or velum, is the soft tissue comprising the back of the roof of the mouth. ... The pharynx (plural: pharynges) is the part of the neck and throat situated immediately posterior to the mouth and nasal cavity, and cranial, or superior, to the esophagus, larynx, and trachea. ... The epiglottis is a lid-like flap of fibrocartilage tissue covered with a mucus membrane, attached to the root of the tongue. ...

Basic taste

Psychophysicists have long suggested the existence of four taste 'primaries', referred to as the basic tastes: sweetness, bitterness, sourness, and saltiness. Umami, or savoriness, has been suggested as a fifth basic taste, exemplified by the non-salty sensations evoked by Monosodium glutamate.^[1][2][3] For other uses, see Sweetness (disambiguation). ... Human taste sensory organs, called taste buds or gustatory calyculi, and concentrated on the upper surface of the tongue, appear to be receptive to relatively few chemical species as tastes. ... Human taste sensory organs, called taste buds or gustatory calyculi, are concentrated on the upper surface of the tongue. ... Human taste sensory organs, called taste buds or gustatory calyculi, and concentrated on the upper surface of the tongue, appear to be receptive to relatively few chemical species as tastes. ... This article is about the chemical compound. ...

Other possible categories have been suggested, such as a taste exemplified by certain fatty acids such as linoleic acid.^[4][5][6] Some researchers still argue against the notion of primaries at all and instead favor a continuum of percepts ^[7][8][9], similar to color vision. In chemistry, especially biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid (or organic acid), often with a long aliphatic tail (long chains), either saturated or unsaturated. ... Color vision is the capacity of an organism or machine to distinguish objects based on the wavelengths (or frequencies) of the light they reflect or emit. ...

All of these taste sensations arise from all regions of the oral cavity, despite the common misperception of a "taste map" of sensitivity to different tastes thought to correspond to specific areas of the tongue.^[10] This myth is generally attributed to the mis-translation of a German text, and perpetuated in North American schools since the early twentieth century ^[11]. Very slight regional differences in sensitivity to compounds exist, though these regional differences are subtle and do not conform exactly to the mythical tongue map. Individual taste buds (which contain approximately 100 taste receptor cells), in fact, typically respond to compounds evoking each of the five basic tastes.

The basic tastes are those commonly recognized types of taste sensed by humans. Humans receive tastes through sensory organs called taste buds or gustatory calyculi, concentrated on the upper surface of the tongue. Scientists describe five basic tastes: bitter, salty, sour, sweet, and umami (described as savoury, meaty, or brothy). The basic tastes are only one component that contributes to the sensation of food in the mouth — other factors include the food's smell, detected by the olfactory epithelium of the nose, its texture, detected by mechanoreceptors, and its temperature, detected by thermoreceptors. Taste and smell are subsumed under the term flavor. This article is about the senses of living organisms (vision, taste, etc. ... This article is about modern humans. ... Taste buds are small structures on the upper surface of the tongue, soft palate, and epiglottis that provide information about the taste of food being eaten. ... For other uses, see Tongue (disambiguation). ... Human taste sensory organs, called taste buds or gustatory calyculi, and concentrated on the upper surface of the tongue, appear to be receptive to relatively few chemical species as tastes. ... Look up smell in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The olfactory epithelium is a specialized epithelial tissue inside the nasal cavity that is involved in smell. ... Mouthfeel is a product’s physical and chemical interaction in the mouth. ... A mechanoreceptor is a sensory receptor that responds to mechanical pressure or distortion. ... A thermoreceptor is a sensory receptor that responds to temperature, primarily within the innocuous range. ... Look up smell in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about flavor as a sensory impression. ...

History

In Western culture, the concept of basic tastes can be traced back at least to Aristotle, who cited "sweet" and "bitter," with "succulent," "salt," "pungent," "harsh," "astringent" and "acid" as elaborations of those two basics. The ancient Chinese Five Elements philosophy lists slightly different five basic tastes: bitter, salty, sour, sweet, and spicy. Japanese and Indian cultures each add their own sixth taste to the basic five. For other uses, see Aristotle (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Sweetness (disambiguation). ... Human taste sensory organs, called taste buds or gustatory calyculi, and concentrated on the upper surface of the tongue, appear to be receptive to relatively few chemical species as tastes. ... Human taste sensory organs, called taste buds or gustatory calyculi, and concentrated on the upper surface of the tongue, appear to be receptive to relatively few chemical species as tastes. ... Look up Pungency in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A bottle of tannic acid, an astringent Astringent medicines cause shrinkage of mucous membranes or exposed tissues and are often used internally to check discharge of blood serum or mucous secretions. ... Chinese Wood (木) | Fire (火) Earth (土) | Metal (金) | Water (水) Japanese Earth (地) | Water (水) | Fire (火) | Air / Wind (風) | Void / Sky / Heaven (空) Hinduism and Buddhism Vayu / Pavan — Air / Wind Agni / Tejas — Fire Akasha — Aether Prithvi / Bhumi — Earth Ap / Jala — Water In traditional Chinese philosophy, natural phenomena can be classified into the Five Elements (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ): wood, fire... Look up Pungency in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

For many years, books on the physiology of human taste contained diagrams of the tongue showing levels of sensitivity to different tastes in different regions. In fact, taste qualities are found in all areas of the tongue, in contrast with the popular view that different tastes map to different areas of the tongue.^[12][13] This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Recent discoveries

The receptors for all known basic tastes have been identified. The receptors for sour and salty are ion channels while the receptors for sweet, bitter, and umami belong to the class of G protein coupled receptors. In biochemistry, a receptor is a protein on the cell membrane or within the cytoplasm or cell nucleus that binds to a specific molecule (a ligand), such as a neurotransmitter, hormone, or other substance, and initiates the cellular response to the ligand. ... Ion channels are pore-forming proteins that help to establish and control the small voltage gradient that exists across the plasma membrane of all living cells (see cell potential) by allowing the flow of ions down their electrochemical gradient. ... In cell biology, G-protein-coupled receptors, also known as GPCR, seven transmembrane receptors, heptahelical receptors, or 7TM receptors, are a class of transmembrane receptors. ...

In November 2005, a team of French researchers experimenting on rodents claimed to have evidence for a sixth taste, for fatty substances.^[14] It is speculated that humans may also have the same receptors.^[15] Fat has occasionally been raised as a possible basic taste in the past (Bravo 1592, Linnaeus 1751) but later classifications abandoned fat as a separate taste (Haller 1751 and 1763). ^[16]

Five basic tastes

For a long period, it has been commonly accepted that there are a finite number of "basic tastes" by which all foods and tastes can be grouped. Up until the 2000s, this was considered to be a group of four basic tastes. More recently, a fifth taste, Umami, was added by a wide number of authorities in this field.^[17] This article is about the decade of 2000-2009. ...

Bitterness

The bitter taste is perceived by many to be unpleasant, sharp, or disagreeable. Common bitter foods and beverages include coffee, unsweetened chocolate, bitter melon, beer, uncured olives, citrus peel, many plants in the Brassicaceae family, dandelion greens and escarole. Quinine is also known for its bitter taste and is found in tonic water. The most bitter substance known is the synthetic chemical denatonium, discovered in 1958. It is used as an aversive agent that is added to toxic substances to prevent accidental ingestion. For other uses, see Coffee (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Chocolate (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that Foo qua be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Beer (disambiguation). ... This article or section may be confusing for some readers, and should be edited to be clearer or more simplified. ... Peel, also known as rind, is the outer protective layer of a fruit. ... Genera See text. ... For other uses, see Dandelion (disambiguation). ... Belgian endive Endive (Cichorium endivia) is variation of the winter leaf vegetable chicory which can be cooked or used in salads, created by growing chicory (or certain similar breeds) until its foliage sprouts, then cutting off the leaves and placing the still-living stem and root in a dark place. ... Quinine (IPA: ) is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic (fever-reducing), anti-smallpox, analgesic (painkilling), and anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. ... The Canada Dry brand of tonic water, shown on the right under ultraviolet light, quinine, even in negliglible quantity makes the liquid fluorescent Tonic water (or Indian tonic water) is a carbonated soft drink flavored with quinine. ... Denatonium, usually available as denatonium benzoate (or under trade names such as Bitrex or Aversion) and as denatonium saccharide, is the most bitter compound known. ...

Research has shown that TAS2Rs (taste receptors, type 2) such as TAS2R38 coupled to the G protein gustducin are responsible for the human ability to taste bitter substances. They are identified not only by their ability to taste for certain "bitter" ligands, but also by the morphology of the receptor itself (surface bound, monomeric).^[18] Researchers use two synthetic substances, phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) to study the genetics of bitter perception. These two substances taste bitter to some people, but are virtually tasteless to others. Among the tasters, some are so-called "supertasters" to whom PTC and PROP are extremely bitter. This genetic variation in the ability to taste a substance has been a source of great interest to those who study genetics. In addition, it is of interest to those who study evolution since PTC-tasting is associated with the ability to taste numerous natural bitter compounds, a large number of which are known to be toxic. TAS2R38 is a taste receptor which facilitates the tasting of phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and propylthiouracil (PROP). ... G-proteins, short for guanine nucleotide binding proteins, are a family of proteins involved in second messenger cascades. ... Phenylthiocarbamide, also known as PTC, or phenylthiourea, is a synthetic organic molecule. ... Propylthiouracil is a thioamide drug used to treat hyperthyroidism. ... This article is about the general scientific term. ... A supertaster is an individual who lives in a more intense taste world. ... This article is about evolution in biology. ...

Saltiness

Saltiness is a taste produced primarily by the presence of sodium ions. They can pass directly through ion channels in the tongue, generating an action potential. Calcium (Ca²⁺) ions can also easily activate the taste, but potassium and magnesium ions do not do so nearly as effectively, instead activating the bitter taste^{[citation needed]}. General Name, symbol, number sodium, Na, 11 Chemical series alkali metals Group, period, block 1, 3, s Appearance silvery white Standard atomic weight 22. ... A. A schematic view of an idealized action potential illustrates its various phases as the action potential passes a point on a cell membrane. ...

Sourness

Look up sour in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Sourness is the taste that detects acidity. The mechanism for detecting sour taste is similar to that which detects salt taste. Hydrogen ion channels detect the concentration of hydronium ions (H₃O⁺ ions) that are formed from acids and water. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 151 languages. ... For other uses, see acid (disambiguation). ... Ion channels are present in the membranes that surround all biological cells. ... In chemistry, hydronium is the common name for the cation H3O+. // Nomenclature According to IUPAC ion nomenclature, it should be referred to as oxonium. ...

Hydrogen ions are capable of permeating the amiloride-sensitive channels, but this is not the only mechanism involved in detecting the quality of sourness. Other channels have also been proposed in the literature. Hydrogen ions also inhibit the potassium channel, which normally functions to hyperpolarize the cell. By a combination of direct intake of hydrogen ions (which itself depolarizes the cell) and the inhibition of the hyperpolarizing channel, sourness causes the taste cell to fire in this specific manner. In addition, it has also been suggested that weak acids, such as CO2, are converted into HCO3(-) by carbonic anhydrase to mediate weak acid transport.^{[citation needed]} Carbonic anhydrase (carbonate dehydratase) is a family of metalloenzymes (enzymes that contain one or more metal atoms as a functional component of the enzyme) that catalyze the rapid interconversion of carbon dioxide and water into carbonic acid, protons, and bicarbonate ions. ...

Sweetness

Main article: Sweetness

Sweetness is produced by the presence of sugars, some proteins and a few other substances. Sweetness is often connected to aldehydes and ketones, which contain a carbonyl group. Sweetness is detected by a variety of G protein coupled receptors coupled to the G protein gustducin found on the taste buds. At least two different variants of the "sweetness receptors" need to be activated for the brain to register sweetness. The compounds which the brain senses as sweet are thus compounds that can bind with varying bond strength to two different sweetness receptors. These receptors are T1R2+3 (heterodimer) and T1R3 (homodimer), which are shown to be accountable for all sweet sensing in humans and animals.^[19] The average human detection threshold for sucrose is 10 millimoles per litre. For lactose it is 30 millimoles per litre, and 5-Nitro-2-propoxyaniline 0.002 millimoles per litre. For other uses, see Sweetness (disambiguation). ... This article is about sugar as food and as an important and widely-traded commodity. ... An aldehyde. ... Ketone group A ketone (pronounced as key tone) is either the functional group characterized by a carbonyl group (O=C) linked to two other carbon atoms or a chemical compound that contains this functional group. ... In chemistry, a carbonyl group is a functional group composed of an atom of carbon double-bonded to an atom of oxygen. ... In cell biology, G-protein-coupled receptors, also known as GPCR, seven transmembrane receptors, heptahelical receptors, or 7TM receptors, are a class of transmembrane receptors. ... G-proteins, short for guanine nucleotide binding proteins, are a family of proteins involved in second messenger cascades. ... Gustducin is a protein associated with basic taste. ... Taste buds are small structures on the upper surface of the tongue, soft palate, and epiglottis that provide information about the taste of food being eaten. ... Flash point N/A Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 Â°C, 100 kPa) Infobox disclaimer and references Sucrose (common name: table sugar, also called saccharose) is a disaccharide (glucose + fructose) with the molecular formula C12H22O11. ... Lactose is a disaccharide that consists of β-D-galactose and β-D-glucose molecules bonded through a β1-4 glycosidic linkage. ... 5-Nitro-2-propoxyaniline, also known as P-4000 and and Ultrasüss, is one of the strongest sweet-tasting substances known, about 4,000 times the intensity of sucrose. ...

See also: Miraculin and Curculin

The Miracle Fruit, origin of Miraculin Miraculin is a glycoprotein extracted from the miracle fruit plant, a shrub native to West Africa (Synsepalum dulcificum or Richadella dulcifica). ... Curculin Curculin which is extracted from Curculigo latifolia acts as a good low calorie sweetener. ...

Umami

Main article: Umami

Umami is the name for the taste sensation produced by compounds such as glutamate, and are commonly found in fermented and aged foods. In English, it is sometimes described as "meaty" or "savoury". The word is from the Japanese word 旨味, うまみ whose characters literally mean "delicious flavour." Umami is now the commonly used term by taste scientists. The same taste is referred to as xiānwèi (鮮味 or 鲜味) in Chinese cooking. Umami is considered a fundamental taste in Chinese and Japanese cooking, but is not discussed as much in Western cuisine. Human taste sensory organs, called taste buds or gustatory calyculi, and concentrated on the upper surface of the tongue, appear to be receptive to relatively few chemical species as tastes. ... Glutamate is the anion of glutamic acid. ... Yeast fermenting the wort at Makers Mark distillery, a step in the production of a distilled beverage. ... Western cuisine is a term used for cuisine in The Americas and in Europe. ...

Examples of food containing glutamate (and thus strong in the umami taste) are parmesan and roquefort cheese as well as soy sauce and fish sauce. It is also found in significant amounts in various unfermented foods such as walnuts, grapes, broccoli, tomatoes, and mushrooms, and to a lesser degree in meat. The glutamate taste sensation is most intense in combination with sodium chloride (table salt). This is one reason why tomatoes exhibit a stronger taste after adding salt. Sauces with umami and salty tastes are very popular for cooking, such as tomato sauces and ketchup for Western cuisines and soy sauce and fish sauce for East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisines. Parmesan cheese. ... Country of origin  France Region, town region surrounding Roquefort-sur-Soulzon Source of milk Ewe Pasteurised No Texture Semi-hard Aging time 3 months Certification AOC 1925 Roquefort is a pungent ewes-milk blue cheese from the south of France, and one of the most famous of all French... Cheese is a solid food made from the milk of cows, goats, sheep, and other mammals. ... Japanese name Kanji: Hiragana: Korean name Hangul: Vietnamese name Quoc Ngu: Soy sauce (US) or soya sauce is a fermented sauce made from soybeans (soya beans), roasted grain, water and salt. ... Fish sauce is a condiment derived from fish that have been allowed to ferment. ... For other uses, see Walnut (disambiguation). ... This article is about the fruits of the genus Vitis. ... Broccoli is a plant of the Cabbage family, Brassicaceae (formerly Cruciferae). ... For other uses, see Tomato (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Mushroom (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Meat (disambiguation). ... R-phrases 36 S-phrases none Flash point Non-flammable Related Compounds Other anions NaF, NaBr, NaI Other cations LiCl, KCl, RbCl, CsCl, MgCl2, CaCl2 Related salts Sodium acetate Supplementary data page Structure and properties n, εr, etc. ... This article is about common table salt. ... For other uses, see Ketchup (disambiguation). ... This article is about the geographical region. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ...

The additive monosodium glutamate (MSG), which was developed as a food additive in 1907 by Kikunae Ikeda, produces a strong umami taste. Umami is also provided by the nucleotides 5’-inosine monophosphate (IMP) and 5’-guanosine monophosphate (GMP). These are naturally present in many protein-rich foods. IMP is present in high concentrations in many foods, including dried skipjack tuna flakes used to make dashi, a Japanese broth. GMP is present in high concentration in dried shiitake mushrooms, used in much of the cuisine of Asia. There is a synergistic effect between MSG, IMP and GMP which together in certain ratios produce a strong umami taste. This article is about the chemical compound. ... Kikunae Ikeda (æ± ç”° 菊苗 Ikeda Kikunae, October 8, 1864 – May 3, 1936) was a Japanese chemist, Tokyo Imperial University professor in Chemistry who, in 1908, uncovered the chemical root behind a taste he named umami. ... A nucleotide is a chemical compound that consists of 3 portions: a heterocyclic base, a sugar, and one or more phosphate groups. ... Inosinic acid is a nucleotide present in muscle and other tissues. ... Guanosine monophosphate, also known as 5-guanidylic acid and abbreviated GMP, is a nucleotide that is found in RNA. It is an ester of phosphoric acid with the nucleoside guanosine. ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) The skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis, is a medium-sized perciform fish in the tuna family, Scombridae. ... Dashi (出汁) is one of several simple soup stocks considered fundamental to Japanese cooking. ... There are many views of what is fundamental to Japanese cuisine. ... Binomial name Lentinula edodes (Berk. ... Asian cuisine is a term for the various cuisines of East Asia and for fusion dishes based on combining them. ...

Some Umami taste buds respond specifically to glutamate in the same way that sweet ones respond to sugar. Glutamate binds to a variant of G protein coupled glutamate receptors.^[20][21] In cell biology, G-protein-coupled receptors, also known as GPCR, seven transmembrane receptors, heptahelical receptors, or 7TM receptors, are a class of transmembrane receptors. ...

More sensations

The tongue can also feel other sensations, not generally called tastes per se or included in the five human tastes. These are largely detected by the somatosensory system. This page includes English translations of several Latin phrases and abbreviations such as . ... The somatosensory system is the sensory system of somatic sensation. ...

Astringency

Some foods, such as unripe fruits, contain tannins or calcium oxalate that cause an astringent or rough sensation of the mucous membrane of the mouth or the teeth. Examples include tea, rhubarb, grapes and unripe persimmons and bananas. Tannins are astringent, bitter-tasting plant polyphenols that bind and precipitate proteins. ... Calcium oxalate is a chemical compound that forms needle-shaped crystals. ... For other uses, see Tea (disambiguation). ... For other uses see Rhubarb (disambiguation) Species About 60, including: R. nobile R. palmatum Rhubarb is a perennial plant that grows from thick short rhizomes, comprising the genus Rheum. ... Species Vitis acerifolia Vitis aestivalis Vitis amurensis Vitis arizonica Vitis x bourquina Vitis californica Vitis x champinii Vitis cinerea Vitis x doaniana Vitis girdiana Vitis labrusca Vitis x labruscana Vitis monticola Vitis mustangensis Vitis x novae-angliae Vitis palmata Vitis riparia Vitis rotundifolia Vitis rupestris Vitis shuttleworthii Vitis tiliifolia Vitis... Species See text A Persimmon is any of a number of species of trees of the genus Diospyros, and the edible fruit borne by them. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Less exact terms for the astringent sensation include: "rubbery", "hard", "styptic", "dry", "rough", "harsh" (especially for wine) and "tart" (normally referring to sourness) ^[22]. The Chinese have a term for this: 澀 (sè), the Korean have 떫다 (tteolda), the Japanese call it 渋い (shibui), while Thai have ฝาด (fard), the Malay use kelat, Filipinos use pakla, and in Russian there is вяжущий (vyazhuschiy) or тёрпкий (tjorpky).

In the Indian tradition, one of the 6 tastes (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, hot/pungent and astringent) [1] is astringency (Kasaaya in Sanskrit). This is more or less in line with the Japanese approach to umami.

Coolness

Some substances activate cold trigeminal receptors. One can sense a cool sensation (also known as "fresh" or "minty") from, e.g., spearmint, menthol, ethanol or camphor, which is caused by the food activating the TRP-M8 ion channel on nerve cells that also signal cold. Unlike the actual change in temperature described for sugar substitutes, coolness is only a perceived phenomenon. The trigeminal nerve is the fifth (V) cranial nerve, and carries sensory information from most of the face, as well as motor supply to the muscles of mastication (the muscles enabling chewing), tensor tympani (in the middle ear), and other muscles in the floor of the mouth, such as the... Binomial name Mentha spicata Crantz Spearmint (Mentha spicata, syn ) is a species of mint native to central and southern Europe, where it grows in wet soils. ... Menthol is a covalent organic compound made synthetically or obtained from peppermint or other mint oils. ... R-phrases 11-20/21/22-36/37/38 S-phrases 16-26-36 RTECS number EX1260000 (R) EX1250000 (S) Supplementary data page Structure and properties n, εr, etc. ... There is a real need to make clear to what transient refers in a transient receptor potential, and the advice of the wider community is solicited to fill this need. ... This article is about cells in the nervous system. ...

Fat

Recent research has revealed a potential taste receptor called the CD36 receptor to be reacting to fat, more specifically, fatty acids.^[23] This receptor was found in mice, but probably exists among other mammals as well. In experiments, mice with a genetic defect that blocked this receptor didn't show the same urge to consume fatty acids as normal mice, and failed to prepare gastric juices in their digestive tracts to digest fat. This discovery may lead to a better understanding of the biochemical reasons behind this behaviour, although more research is still necessary to confirm the relationship between CD36 and the perception of fat. CD36 is an integral membrane protein found on the surface of many cell types in vertebrate animals and is also known as FAT, SCARB3, GP88, glycoprotein IV (gpIV) and glycoprotein IIIb (gpIIIb). ... For other uses, see FAT. Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. ... Not to be confused with fats. ... Binomial name (Berkenhout, 1769) Brown Rat range The brown rat, common rat, Norway rat, Norwegian rat or wharf rat (Rattus norvegicus) is one of the best-known and common rats, and also one of the largest. ... Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria For the folk-rock band see The Mammals. ... Gastric juice is a strong acidic liquid, pH 1 to 3, which is close to being colourless. ... Gut redirects here. ...

Kokumi

Some Japanese researchers refer to a flavor called kokumi which has been described variously as continuity, "mouthfulness", mouthfeel and thickness.

Metallic taste

Most people know this taste (e.g. Cu²⁺, FeSO₄, or blood in mouth), but it is not only taste but olfactory receptors worked in this case (Guth and Grosch, 1990).

• Some diseases cause a "metallic taste"^[24]
• Some substances (tetracycline, H₂S) can stimulate "metallic taste" ^[25]

Tetracycline (INN) (IPA: ) is a broad-spectrum antibiotic produced by the streptomyces bacterium, indicated for use against many bacterial infections. ...

Spiciness or hotness

See also: Scoville scale and Pungency

Substances such as ethanol and capsaicin cause a burning sensation by inducing a trigeminal nerve reaction together with normal taste reception. The sensation of heat is caused by the food activating a nerve cell called TRP-V1, which is also activated by hot temperatures. The piquant sensation, usually referred to as being "hot" or "spicy", is a notable feature of Mexican, Hungarian, Indian, Szechuan, Korean, Indonesian, central Vietnamese, and Thai cuisines. Naga Jolokia (naga morich, bhut jolokia), the Indian chili tested hottest in the world at 1,040,000 SHU. The Red Savina pepper, one of the hottest chilis, is rated at 580,000 SHU. Only Naga Jolokia and Dorset Naga are hotter. ... Look up Pungency in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) is the active component of chilli peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus Capsicum. ... Look up Pungency in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Also Magyar cuisine. ... Szechuan cuisine, Szechwan cuisine, or Sichuan cuisine (Chinese: ) is a style of Chinese cuisine originating in Sichuan Province of southwestern China which has an international reputation for being hot and numbing (麻辣), because of the common ingredient Sichuan peppercorn (花椒). Although the region Sichuan is now romanized as Sichuan, the cuisine is... Korean cuisine is the traditional food of Korea. ... Indonesian cuisine reflects the vast variety of people that live on the 13,000 islands that make up Indonesia. ...

The two main plants providing this sensation are chili peppers (those fruits of the Capsicum plant that contain capsaicin) and black pepper. For other uses, see Chili. ... Species C. annuum (incl. ... Capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) is the active component of chilli peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus Capsicum. ... Binomial name L.[1] Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. ...

If tissue in the oral cavity has been damaged or sensitised, ethanol may be experienced as pain rather than simply heat. Those who have had radiotherapy for oral cancer thus find it painful to drink alcohol.^{[citation needed]}

Numbness

Chinese cooking includes the idea of 麻 má, the sensation of tingling numbness caused by spices such as Sichuan pepper. The cuisine of Sichuan province often combines this with chili pepper to produce a 麻辣 málà, "numbing-and-hot", flavor.^[26] Sichuan pepper (or Szechuan pepper) is the outer pod of the tiny fruit of a number of species in the genus Zanthoxylum (most commonly Zanthoxylum piperitum, Zanthoxylum simulans, and Zanthoxylum sancho), widely grown and consumed in Asia as a spice. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: SzÅ­4-chuan1; Postal map spelling: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in the central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ... For other uses, see Chili. ...

Temperature

Temperature is an essential element of human taste experience. Food and drink that — within a given culture — is considered to be properly served hot is often considered distasteful if cold, and vice versa.

Some sugar substitutes have strong heats of solution, as is the case of sorbitol, erythritol, xylitol, mannitol, lactitol and maltitol. When they are dry and are allowed to dissolve in saliva, heat effects can be recognized. The cooling effect upon eating may be desirable, as in a mint candy made with crystalline sorbitol, or undesirable if it's not typical for that product, like in a cookie. Crystalline phases tend to have a positive heat of solution and thus a cooling effect. The heats of solution of the amorphous phases of the same substances are negative and cause a warm impression in the mouth.^[27] The enthalpy change of solution (or enthalpy of dissolution) is the enthalpy change when one mole of a substance is dissolved completely in a large volume of a solvent at constant pressure. ... Sorbitol, also known as glucitol, is a sugar alcohol the body metabolises slowly. ... Erythritol ((2R,3S)-butane-1,2,3,4-tetraol) is a natural sugar alcohol (a type of sugar substitute) which has been approved for use in the United States[1] and throughout much of the world. ... Xylitol, also called wood sugar or birch sugar, is a five-carbon sugar alcohol that is used as a sugar substitute. ... Mannitol or hexan-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexol (C6H8(OH)6) is an osmotic diuretic agent and a weak renal vasodilator. ... Lactitol is a sugar alcohol used as a replacement sweetener for low calorie foods with approximately 40% of the sweetness of sugar. ... Maltitol is a sugar alcohol (a polyol) used as a sugar substitute. ... Crystal (disambiguation) Insulin crystals A crystal is a solid in which the constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are packed in a regularly ordered, repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. ... An amorphous solid is a solid in which there is no long-range order of the positions of the atoms. ...

Supertasters

Main article: Supertaster

A supertaster is a person whose sense of taste is significantly more acute than average. Women are more likely to be supertasters, as are Asians, Africans and South Americans. Among individuals of European descent, it is estimated that about 25% of the population are supertasters. The cause of this heightened response is currently unknown, although it is thought to be, at least in part, due to an increased number of fungiform papillae.^[28] The evolutionary advantage to supertasting is unclear. In some environments, heightened taste response, particularly to bitterness, would represent an important advantage in avoiding potentially toxic plant alkaloids. However, in other environments, increased response to bitter may have limited the range of palatable foods. In our modern, energy-rich environment, supertasting may be cardioprotective, due to decreased liking and intake of fat, but may increase cancer risk via decreased vegetable intake. It may be a cause of picky eating, but picky eaters are not necessarily supertasters, and vice versa. A supertaster is an individual who lives in a more intense taste world. ... The fungiform papillae are mushroom shaped papillae (projections) on the tongue. ...

Aftertaste

Main article: Aftertaste

Aftertaste is the persistence of a sensation of flavor after the stimulating substance has passed out of contact with the sensory end organs for taste. Some aftertastes may be pleasant, others unpleasant. Aftertaste is the persistence of a sensation of flavor after the stimulating substance has passed out of contact with the sensory end organs for taste. ...

Alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer and whiskey are noted for having particularly strong aftertastes. Foods with notable aftertastes include spicy foods, such as Mexican food (e.g. chili pepper), or Indian food (such as curry). Mexican cuisine is a style of food that originated in Mexico. ... Regional cuisines Indian cuisine can be broken down into three distinct regional styles: North Indian Rajasthan/Gujarat Punjab Kashmir Benaras Mughlai/durbar South Indian Kerala Andhra Kannada/Mysore Tamil cuisine Maharashtrian Eastern Bengali Assamese Thanks to Indias geography, wheat is a staple of North Indian foods, while rice is...

Medicines and tablets may also have a lingering aftertaste. For the chemical substances known as medicines, see medication. ...

Acquired taste

An acquired taste is an appreciation for a food or beverage that is unlikely to be enjoyed, in part or in full, by a person who has not had substantial exposure to it, usually because of some unfamiliar aspect of the food or beverage, including a strong or strange odor, taste, or appearance. The process of “acquiring” a taste involves consuming a food or beverage in the hope of learning to enjoy it. In most cases, this introductory period is considered worthwhile, as many of the world's delicacies are considered to be acquired tastes. A connoisseur is one who is held to have an expert judgment of taste. An acquired taste is an appreciation for a food or beverage that is unlikely to be enjoyed, in part or in full, by a person who has not had substantial exposure to it, usually because of some unfamiliar aspect of the food or beverage, including a strong or strange odor... This is a List of delicacies. ... A connoisseur (Fr. ...

Factors affecting taste perception

Many factors affect taste perception, including:

• Aging
• Color/vision impairments
• Hormonal influences
• Genetic variations - See Phenylthiocarbamide
• Oral temperature
• Drugs and chemicals
• CNS Tumors (esp. Temporal lobe lesions) and other neurological causes^[29]
• Plugged noses
• Zinc deficiency

It is also important to consider that flavor is the overall, total sensation induced during mastication (e.g. taste, touch, pain and smell). Smell (olfactory stimulation) plays a major role in flavor perception. Phenylthiocarbamide, also known as PTC, or phenylthiourea, is a synthetic organic molecule. ... General Name, symbol, number zinc, Zn, 30 Chemical series transition metals Group, period, block 12, 4, d Appearance bluish pale gray Standard atomic weight 65. ... This article is about flavor as a sensory impression. ... Mastication or chewing is the process by which food is mashed and crushed by teeth. ... Olfaction, the sense of smell, is the detection of chemicals dissolved in air (or, by animals that breathe water, in water). ...

Disorders of taste

• ageusia (complete loss)

Ageusia (pronounced ay-GOO-see-uh) is the loss of taste functions of the tongue, particularly the inability to detect sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and saltiness. ...

See also

• Optimal foraging theory
• Vomeronasal organ

A central concern of ecology has traditionally been foraging behavior. ... The vomeronasal organ (VNO) or Jacobsons organ is an auxiliary olfactory sense organ in some tetrapods. ...

References

PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Human taste sensory organs, called taste buds or gustatory calyculi, and concentrated on the upper surface of the tongue, appear to be receptive to relatively few chemical species as tastes. ... PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ...

External links

• Researchers Define Molecular Basis of Human "Sweet Tooth" and Umami Taste
• Answers to several questions of curious kids about taste