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An overview of binary taste-taste interactions
The human gustatory system is capable of identifying five major taste qualities: sweet, sour, bitter, salty and savory (umami), and perhaps several sub-qualities. This is a relatively small number of qualities given the vast number and structural diversity of chemical compounds that elicit taste. When we consume a food, our taste receptor cells are activated by numerous stimuli via several transduction pathways. An important food-related taste question which remains largely unanswered is: How do taste perceptions change when multiple taste stimuli are presented together in a food or beverage rather than when presented alone? The interactions among taste compounds is a large research area that has interested electrophysiologists, psychophysicists, biochemists, and food scientists alike. On a practical level, taste interactions are important in the development and modification of foods, beverages or oral care products. Is there enhancement or suppression of intensity when adding stimuli of the same or different qualities together? Relevant psychophysical literature on taste–taste interactions along with selected psychophysical theory is reviewed. We suggest that the position of the individual taste stimuli on the concentration-intensity psychophysical curve (expansive, linear, or compressive phase of the curve) predicts important interactions when reporting enhancement or suppression of taste mixtures.
History
Journal
Food quality and preferenceVolume
14Issue
2Pagination
111 - 124Publisher
Elsevier ScienceLocation
New York, N.Y.Publisher DOI
ISSN
0950-3293eISSN
1873-6343Language
engPublication classification
C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2002, Elsevier Science Ltd.Usage metrics
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No categories selectedKeywords
taste psychophysicsfoodsweetsoursaltyumamisavorybittersuppressionenhancementtaste mixturesScience & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicineFood Science & Technologysweet soursaltsavorSWEETNESS INTENSITYMIXTURE SUPPRESSIONACID MIXTURESBITTER TASTEPERCEPTUAL INTEGRATIONMONOSODIUM GLUTAMATERELATIVE SWEETNESSCROSS-ADAPTATIONSUGAR MIXTURESRECEPTOR GENE
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