New taste receptors beyond the basic 5 ?
Well ... the election is over and it is possible [I'm not even saying probable] that peoples attentions may be freed up for other matters . Given that , I thought a little science might be interesting . So here is an item for your perusal.
It seems that science is examining the sense of taste . As that happens , more taste receptors are turning up , some of them quite surprising . About a decade ago , the Japanese offered convincing evidence of a 5th taste receptor called umami . Those nutty Japanese are continuing along the same path with this latest submission :
[[Kokumi
That calcium receptor might also have something to do with an unrelated sixth-taste candidate called kokumi, which translates as "mouthfulness" and "heartiness." Kokumi has been promulgated by researchers from the same Japanese food company, Ajinomoto, who helped convince the taste world of the fifth basic taste, umami, a decade ago.
Ajinomoto scientists published a paper in early 2010 suggesting that certain compounds, including the amino acid L-histidine, glutathione in yeast extract and protamine in fish sperm, or milt which, yes, they do eat in Japan, and elsewhere interact with our tongue's calcium receptors.
The result: an enhancement of flavors already in the mouth, or perhaps a certain richness. Braised, aged or slow-cooked foods supposedly contain greater levels of kokumi.
If all that sounds a bit vague, it does to Western scientists also. Ajinomoto representatives have visited Tordoff's group "and given us foods they say are high in kokumi but we have no idea what they're talking about," he said. "Kokumi may be something that the Western palette is not attuned to."]]
And here is another surprising excerpt :
[[Calcium
The element calcium is critical in our bodies for muscle contraction, cellular communication and bone growth. Being able to sense it in our chow, therefore, would seem like a handy tool for survival.
Mice seem to have it figured out, kind of. Recent research has revealed that the rodents' tongues have two taste receptors for calcium. One of those receptors has been found on the human tongue, though its role in directly tasting calcium is not yet settled, said Tordoff.
Calcium clearly has a taste, however, and counterintuitively most mice (and humans) don't like it. People have described it as sort of bitter and chalky even at very low concentrations. Tordoff thinks our calcium taste might actually exist to avoid consuming too much of it.
An over-sensitivity to calcium-rich foods such as spinach could help explain why four out of five Americans don't get enough calcium. "There is a strong relation between people not liking vegetables and calcium," said Tordoff.
As for milk and other calcium-loaded dairy, the cal cium in it binds to the fat, so we don't taste the mineral all that much, Tordoff noted.]]
I think I agree with that one from my experience . How about you ? There are a whole bunch more in the rest of the article .
The full link is here .
http://www.livescience.com/17782-sixth-taste-flavors.html
Tags
Who is online
83 visitors
Yumm !
This is pertinent anecdotal evidence . I wonder if the one who enjoyed the calcium rich foods also had better bone growth ... BTW thanks for reviving this old article .
Don't get spermed on by any fish if you visit Japan . It could be a throwdown ...