Synonyms
Taste stimulus; Sapid Saporous, Saporific stimulus
Definition
A tastant is a water-soluble chemical that produces a taste sensation by activating taste receptor cells (TRCs) and producing activity in taste-related pathways (see Taste) in the nervous system.
Characteristics
Taste Qualities
Taste stimuli encompass a variety of chemical structures, but, some would argue, evoke only a handful of different sensations. A taste quality may therefore encompass a group of ligands that produce a similar sensation in a particular species. In humans and most mammals, there are four commonly known “primary” or “basic” taste qualities: salty, sour, bitter (taste-bitter) and sweet. A preponderance of recent evidence points to umami, described as “savory,” as a fifth basic taste quality. Another group of chemicals that have been put forward as potential tastants are fatty acids. Though not exhaustive, Table 1is a list of tastants and the taste qualities that they evoke in humans. For more...
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© 2009 Springer-Verlag GmbH Berlin Heidelberg
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Di Lorenzo, P.M., Chen, JY., Rosen, A.M., Roussin, A.T. (2009). Tastant. In: Binder, M.D., Hirokawa, N., Windhorst, U. (eds) Encyclopedia of Neuroscience. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29678-2_5888
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29678-2_5888
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