TASTE (GUSTATION)

kityamuwesi

OUTLINE

Review h/o taste bud as sensor cells

Classification of taste substance areas
Generation of taste electrical signals
Transmission of signals to cerebral
cortical cells responsible for taste
Interpretation of taste
Taste function tests
Pathophysiology of taste

Introduction
Taste is a form of direct chemoreception
It allows descrimination between desirable &
undesirable substances
In humans and many other vertebrate
animals the sense of taste partners with the
less direct sense of smell
They allow recognition of proximity of other
animals or individuals within the group

Introduction cont.
Taste and smell are tied to
primitive emotional and
behavioral functions of the
nervous system

History
In Western culture, the concept of basic
tastes can be traced back at least to
Aristotle, who cited two basic tastes:
Succulent
Sweet & bitter
Harsh
Salt & pungent
Sour (Elaboration of the basic two)
Puckery

History cont.
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.

Sense of taste
Mainly a function of taste buds but
influenced by:
Olfactory system
Somatosensory system
Importance Of Taste
Selection of food according to:
Desire
Metabolic need

Taste Buds
Are taste receptors
Ovoid bodies of about 50-70 m
Each taste bud is made up of 4 types of
cells:
Basal cells
Type I cells

Substentacular cells

Type II cells
Type III cells (Gustatory cells)

Locations Of Taste Buds

Wall of troughs surrounding circumvallate
papillae (V-line)
Fungiform pupillae
Foliate papillae (Folds lat. Surf. Tongue)
Palate
Tonsillar pillars
Epiglottis
Upper oesophagus

Some Lingual Papillae

Each taste bud is innervated

by about 50 nerves
Each nerve fiber receive
input from about 5 taste buds

Taste Map

1. The back of the

tongue: bitter
2. The sides of the
tongue near the
back: sour
3. The sides of the
tongue near the
front: salty
4. The tip of the
tongue: sweet

Primary Sensation
Over 13 groups of chemicals have been
identified to excite taste receptors but so far
they have been grouped into 5 basic tastes:
Sour
Salty
Sweet
Bitter
Umami

Saltiness
Saltiness is a taste produced primarily by the presence
of sodium ions
Other ions of the alkali metals group also taste salty
However the further from sodium the less salty is the
sensation
The size of lithium and potassium ions most closely
resemble those of sodium and thus the saltiness is most
similar
In contrast rubidium and cesium ions are far larger so
their salty taste differs accordingly
Potassium, as potassium chloride is the principal
ingredient in salt substitutes

Sour
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
Sweetness
Produced by Sugars, some amino acid & protein,
aldehydes and ketones, which contain a carbonyl
group
Sweetness is detected by a variety of G protein
coupled receptors

Sweetness cont.
The compounds which the brain senses as sweet are
those compounds that can bind with varying bond
strength to two different sweetness receptors.
These receptors are T1R2+3 (heterodimer) and T1R3
(homodimer)

Bitterness
The TAS2Rs (taste receptors, type 2, also known as
T2Rs) such as TAS2R38 coupled to the G protein
gustducin are responsible for the human ability to
taste bitter substances

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 also described
as "meatiness", "relish" or savoriness
Taste of MSG
Specialized metabotropic glutamate
receptor may be responsible

Taste/Gustation
Gustatory pathway
Info from anterior tongue travels through
chorda tympani, a branch of the facial (7th)
nerve; info from posterior tongue travels
through lingual branch of 9th CN; 10th CN carries
info from palate and epiglottis
First relay station is the nucleus of the
solitary tract (NTS), in the medulla, which then
projects to the thalamus, then to the primary
gustatory cortex, located at base of frontal
cortex and in the insular cortex

Other Sensations (Somatosesory)

Fattiness
Dryness
Metallicness
Prickliness or hotness
Coolness
Numbness
Heartiness (Kokumi)
Temperature

Dryness
Unripe fruits, contain tannins or calcium oxalate that
cause an astringent or rough sensation of the mucous
membrane of the mouth or the teeth.

Prickliness or hotness
Substances such as ethanol and capsaicin
Excite both normal and tatse reception & trigeminal
nerve receptor with (TRPV1)

Coolness
Spearmint, menthol, ethanol or camphor
Activate cold trigeminal receptors TRP-M8 ion channel

Taste Abnormalities
Ageusia
Hpogeusia
Dysgeusia

Many factors affect taste perception,

including:
Aging
Color/vision impairments
Hormonal influences
Genetic variations; (Phenylthiocarbamide)
Oral temperature
Drugs and chemicals
Natural Substances (Miracle fruit)
CNS Tumors (esp. Temporal lobe lesions) and other
neurological causes
Plugged noses
Zinc deficiency

Taste Function Tests

No reliable method has been reported
Some methods being tried include:
Sip and Spit
Taste strips
Gustrometry

The End
Thanks