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Olfactory Transduction Channels and Their Modulation by Varieties of Volatile Substances

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Book cover Taste and Smell

Part of the book series: Topics in Medicinal Chemistry ((TMC,volume 23))

Abstract

Olfaction starts at the sensory cilia of the olfactory receptor cell. One of the unusual features of this signal transduction is that the underlying ion channels are directly exposed to the external environment, so that the channel and olfactory senses can be modified by externally applied chemicals even by the airborne stimuli. In the human history, such properties have long been used as an olfactory masking that erases unpleasant smells present in the environment. It has been shown that a part of masking is responsible for direct suppression by odorants of olfactory signal transduction channels. It has also been shown that similar suppression by off-flavors included in foods and beverages brings negative effects on pleasant scents and flavors by suppressing original odor of products. In this chapter, we focus on the olfactory signal conversion system and its modulation by diverse types of volatile substances.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, 1-3 Machikaneyma-cho, Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan

    Hiroko Takeuchi & Takashi Kurahashi

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  1. Hiroko Takeuchi
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  2. Takashi Kurahashi
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Correspondence to Hiroko Takeuchi .

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  1. Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fuer Lebensmittelchemie, Leibniz Institut, Freising, Germany

    Dietmar Krautwurst

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Takeuchi, H., Kurahashi, T. (2016). Olfactory Transduction Channels and Their Modulation by Varieties of Volatile Substances. In: Krautwurst, D. (eds) Taste and Smell. Topics in Medicinal Chemistry, vol 23. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/7355_2015_100

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