Chemical Sense I — Taste

M.O. Welcome MD, MMedSci, Ph.D

Department of Physiology
College of Health Sciences,
Nile University of Nigeria,
FCT – Abuja
 Contents
1. Introduction

3. Taste
buds/neural
2. Taste
pathway
types/Functions
 Introduction

 Taste is an oral sensation elicited by ingested

substances, and provides humans with information
about the composition and quality of food
substances.
 The sense of taste allows humans to separate
undesirable or poisonous foods from
pleasant/nutritious ones.
1. Sweet
Taste sensations (Taste
2. Bitter modalities)
3. Salty
4. Sour
5. Umami
Sweet taste
This taste perception or modality is caused by responses of sweet
taste receptors to sweet substances.
These substances include hexoses, certain amino acids, and
proteins.
Bitter taste
This modality is caused by responses of bitter taste receptors to
bitter substances such as caffeine, denatonium benzoate, and
quinine.
Salty Taste
The salty taste is elicited by ionized salts, mainly by the sodium ion
concentration.
The cations of the salts, especially sodium cations, are mainly responsible for
the salty taste.

Sour Taste
This taste is caused by acids, i.e. hydrogen ion concentration

Umami
This taste is caused by umami compounds such as monosodium
glutamate, 5’-mononucleotides and L-amino acids.
Taste Receptors
Salt & Sour
Salty and sour tastes are transmitted
through ion channels such as the
epithelial sodium channel 1 beta
Salt & Sour subunit

Bitter, sweet & umami

Bitter, sweet Bitter, sweet and umami tastes are
transmitted through the G protein-
and umami coupled receptors – types 1 and 2
taste receptors
Controversial modalities of taste …?
Oleogustus Hydrogustus

Taste of Taste of
fat water
 Functional Roles of Taste
Prevent ingestion of potentially toxic substances

Enhance metabolism

Enhance immunity (acting as immune sentinels)

Promote smooth muscle relaxation

Modulate or trigger hormone secretion

 Pleiotropic
properties &
functions of taste:
involvement of CNS
taste receptors in
brain inflammation
Mechanisms (molecular) of
SARS-CoV-2 induced CNS
disorder
 Taste Buds
 Taste is mainly a function of
the taste buds in the mouth.
 Taste buds are peripheral
chemosensory organs in the
oral cavity – peripheral end-
organs of taste.
 Each taste bud consists of 50-100
cells that interact synaptically
during gustatory stimulation.
 Taste buds, which contain the
receptor cells (gustatory cells)
are housed in taste papillae in
the oral cavity – involved in
taste detection.
Different
regions of the
tongue are
responsible
for specific
taste
sensations
 Generation of taste signal

 The taste receptor cell, once

activated by the taste modalities,
generates a receptor potential
due to membrane depolarization,
which is transmitted as action
potential into the CNS
Reference:
Taruno A,
Nomura K,
Kusakizako T,
Ma Z, Nureki O,
Foskett JK.
Taste
transduction
and channel
synapses in
taste buds.
Pflugers Arch.
2021;473(1):3-
13.
doi:10.1007/s0
0424-020-
02464-4
• Signal transduction
pathway of bitter
taste receptors
(TAS2R).
• The signal
transduction
mechanisms of
bitter taste
receptors is similar
to that of the sweet
taste receptors.
 Transmission of taste signal

 The taste buds are innervated by three cranial nerves (VII –fungiform papillae, IX -
circumvallate, and X - epiglotis), and a series of central neural centers and pathways.
 Taste impulses from the anterior two thirds of the tongue → lingual nerve → chorda
tympani → facial nerve (VII) → tractus solitarius in the brain stem.
 Taste sensations from the circumvallate papillae on the back of the tongue and from
other posterior regions of the mouth and throat → glossopharyngeal nerve → tractus
solitarius.
 Taste impulses from the base of the tongue and other parts of the pharyngeal region
→ vagus nerve → tractus solitarius
 Axons of the neurons of tractus solitarius send second-order neurons to a small area
of the ventral posterior medial nucleus of the thalamus.
 From the thalamus, third-order neurons transmit signals to the lower tip of the
postcentral gyrus in the parietal cerebral cortex, then to the insular area.
Transmission of
taste signal into the
CNS
Applied Physiology
Taste blindness: Lack of taste sensation of
specific compounds, especially those of
thiourea compounds.
Phenylthiocarbamide is used for
demonstrating taste blindness.
Many disorders are associated with taste
dysfunctions.
COVID-19 symptoms include ageusia (loss of
taste), hypoageusia (reduced taste sensation),
dysgeusia (altered taste sensation).
 Ubiquitous nature of taste
Taste receptors are present in almost all human cells
Thank
you!