Sweet taste thresholds are positively related to plasma leptin levels in normal weight humans: both show parallel diurnal variations and associations with postprandial glucose and insulin rises. Here, we tested whether this relationship also exists in overweight and obese (OW/Ob) individuals with hyperleptinemia. We tested 36 Japanese OW/Ob subjects (body mass index (BMI) > 25 kg/m²) for recogn...

AIMS The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of acute and chronic exposure to alcohol on taste responses to a prototypic umami substance, monosodium glutamate (MSG). METHODS The rated intensity and pleasantness of MSG taste (0.03-10.0%) was compared in chronic male alcoholics (n = 35) and control subjects (n = 25). In a separate experiment, the effects of acute exposure of th...

OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of sweet taste perception on dietary habits in Saudi schoolchildren. In addition, the relationship between dietary habits and both caries and BMI was studied. METHODS A cross-sectional observational study comprising 225 schoolchildren aged 13-15 years from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was conducted. The consumption frequency of certain fo...

The importance of stimulus timing and location on the perceptual integration of taste and odour was studied based on a sub-threshold methodology. From a panel of 16 people, 12 showed the integration effect previously reported while 4 showed no effect. The experiment was repeated using retronasal and orthonasal delivery of the odour and with tastant present or absent in the mouth. Integration of...

BACKGROUND Phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP), chemically related compounds, are probes for genetic variation in bitter taste, although PROP is safer with less sulfurous odor. Threshold for PROP distinguishes nontasters (increased threshold) from tasters (lower threshold); perceived intensity subdivides tasters into medium tasters (PROP is bitter) and supertasters (PROP i...

We determined taste recognition thresholds for six compounds (sucrose, fructose, sodium chloride, quinine sulphate, PROP, and liquorice) in fasting students and, in the same subjects, after a meal. The testing procedure was the staircase-method in blind conditions. Although possible variation of taste sensitivity could be linked to internal state (i.e. hormonal status), our results did not show...

Polymorphisms in the TAS2R38 gene provide insight to phenotypes long associated 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) and phenylthiocarbamide bitterness. We tested relationships between TAS2R38 genotype, taste phenotype, and fungiform papillae (FP) number in 139 females and 59 males (age range 21-60 years), primarily of European ancestry. DNA was analyzed for 3 polymorphic sites, identifying common (alan...

A number of tlutlic* rrjwrt an impairment of the genetically inherited ability to taste ITC a.% a function of age. but ignore the cumulative effect of smoking on taste deterioration. Thi* «tudy examine* the effect of aging on taste sensitivity in nonsmoking: Mennonite population*. The results obtained preclude a cause and effect relationship between age and ITC taste sensitivity. These results ...

Plant defense compounds occur in floral nectar, but their ecological role is not well understood. We provide evidence that plant compounds pharmacologically alter pollinator behavior by enhancing their memory of reward. Honeybees rewarded with caffeine, which occurs naturally in nectar of Coffea and Citrus species, were three times as likely to remember a learned floral scent as were honeybees ...