Taste for Survival

In a recent issue of Current Biology, authors Paul Breslin and Alan Spector (of Monell Chemical Senses Center and Florida State University respectively) offer an overview of recent advances in the field of taste perception.

They tell us there are five generally accepted taste qualities that are associated with different classes of compounds (although some animals may possess more or less) shown by taste test. These are:
• Sweet - associated with simple carbohydrates (sugar)
• Umami (savory) - generated by amino acids and small peptides
• Salty - associated with sodium and other ions
• Sour - generated by acids
• Bitter - stimulated by potential toxins, like plant alkaloids

food research and development show that taste is so critical that humans who lose their sense of taste, such as after radiotherapy, often will not eat.

"Thus, while we may tend to take the sense of taste for granted relative to our other sensory modalities, its significance for health and quality of life should not be trivialized," wrote Breslin and Spector.

They explain that compounds are first organized into perceptual classes by the taste receptor cells. Once the cells are activated, they stimulate taste bud cells and the neural fibers connected to them. These are then channeled through the brain in to be sifted through perceptual and behavioral filters.

The identification of chemical stimuli might serve as clues for the consequences of digestion. In nature, what an animal digests both in the short-term and over a lifetime has consequences for their very survival.

For humans, it may not be far from the case as well. Today with product reformulations to reduce salt or fat content to protect our long-term health, it’s important to know how nutrients impact taste, and how to get the consumer to enjoy what’s good for them. Learn more about Taste Perception in sensory food!