Sour taste is the key element in the flavor profile of food acidulants. Understanding the chemistry and physiology of sour taste is critical for efficient control of flavor in the formulation of acid and acidified foods. After a brief introduction to the main applications of food acidulants, several chemical parameters associated with sour taste are discussed. Special emphasis is given to hydro...

Animals use their gustatory systems to evaluate the nutritious value, toxicity, sodium content, and acidity of food. Although characterization of molecular identities that receive taste chemicals is essential, molecular receptors underlying sour taste sensation remain unclear. Here, we show that two transient receptor potential (TRP) channel members, PKD1L3 and PKD2L1, are coexpressed in a subs...

Network-based learning or e-Learning has been taking an important role in education as helpful education tools. However, it is difficult for teachers to retrieve education data from students or to obtain data from the student activities. Therefore, we have developed a problem solving environment (PSE) for the education and learning support: TSUNA-TASTE. The TSUNA-TASTE system collects the syste...

Food contains various taste substances. Among them, umami substances play an important role with regard to the perception of the taste of food, but, few studies have examined the taste characteristics of representative umami substances other than monosodium L-glutamate (MSG). By conducting mouse behavioral studies (the 48-h 2-bottle preference test and the conditioned taste aversion test) and a...

Taste buds are composed of a variety of taste receptor cell types that develop from tongue epithelium and are regularly replenished under normal homeostatic conditions as well as after injury. The characteristics of cells that give rise to regenerating taste buds are poorly understood. Recent studies have suggested that Lgr5 (leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein coupled receptor 5) identifi...

T he ability to taste food is a life-and-death matter. Failure to recognise food with a high enough caloric content could mean a slow death from malnutrition. Failure to detect a poison could result in near-instant expiration. And now, as researchers begin to understand some of the nuts and bolts of taste perception, it seems that the sense of taste may also have more subtle effects on health. ...

BACKGROUND The polycystic kidney disease-like ion channel PKD2L1 and its associated partner PKD1L3 are potential candidates for sour taste receptors. PKD2L1 is expressed in type III taste cells that respond to sour stimuli and genetic elimination of cells expressing PKD2L1 substantially reduces chorda tympani nerve responses to sour taste stimuli. However, the contribution of PKD2L1 and PKD1L3 ...

Flavour perception is determinant for the acceptability of food products by consumers. Aroma and taste play an important role in flavour perception and it is well known that the chemical composition of the matrix and consequently its structure influences release and perception of flavour. However, from simultaneous measurements of human perception and physical concentration in vivo, texture – a...

Only some taste cells fire action potentials in response to sapid stimuli. Type II taste cells express many taste transduction molecules but lack well-elaborated synapses, bringing into question the functional significance of action potentials in these cells. We examined the dependence of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) transmitter release from taste cells on action potentials. To identify type II...

Recognition memory is the ability to assert the familiarity of things previously encountered. In the case of food, when an animal encounters a new taste, it hesitates to eat it, showing a reduced consumption—a neophobic response. However, when the new taste has no negative consequences, it becomes recognized as a safe signal, leading to an increase in its consumption (attenuation of neophobia)....