Physiology of taste

Physiology of taste

Nikola Kudoi

Sense of tastemainly a function of the taste buds in the mouthit allows a person to select food in accord with desires and often in accord with the body tissues metabolic need for specific substances13 possible chemical receptors in the taste cells:

sour, salty, sweet, bitter and umami

2 receptors for:1 receptor for:SodiumChloridePotassiumAdenosineSweetInosineBitterGlutamateHydrogen ionSour tasteintensity proportional to the logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration acidic food

Salty tasteelicited by ionized salts sodium ion concentration

Sweet tastenot caused by any single class of chemicalssugars, glycols, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, amides, esters, some amino acids, some small proteins, sulfonic acids

Bitter tasteoragnic substances:1. long-chain organic substances that contain nitrogen,2. alkaloidsmuch more sensitive protective function (toxins) food rejection

Umami tastepleasant taste sensationfood containing L-glutamate

Taste budsupporting cells + taste cellsmitotic division of surrounding epithelial cellsouter tips (microvilli) of the taste cells taste pore = receptor surfacecircumvallate, fungiform and foliate papillae + palate, tonsillar pillars, epiglottis and proximal esophagus3,000 to 10,000

Transmission of taste signals

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