Salivary interactions with chemosensation

项目摘要 许多声称健康的食物味道很差。令人沮丧的是，某些导致不愉快味道的分子 感觉通常是被认为改善健康的完全相同的分子（例如，茶或巧克力中的多酚 可能对心脏健康有好处，但也尝起来很苦）。然而，尽管这些分子的性质令人不快， 在与世隔绝的情况下，一些人对富含据称“不好吃”味道的食物产生偏好。比如说， 对辛辣、某些苦味食物和健康脂肪有不同的喜好者和厌恶者。如果我们能瞄准一个 生理手段来改变健康促进分子的味道，我们也许可以帮助dislikers 这些健康的食物转变为更健康的饮食。 人类唾液中存在的蛋白质有可能改变健康食品中许多令人不快的味道。 然而，唾液的味道相互作用还没有得到广泛的测试和验证，而且知之甚少 关于个体唾液蛋白质的量如何随时间变化。因此，我们将1） 确定唾液中的蛋白质如何改变味道，以及2）确定频繁暴露于味道是否会改变 唾液表达 建立这些唾液如何影响味道的基线特征将使我们能够更好地解释 风味感知和喜好的可变性。这可能有助于未来的工作，以提高健康食品的风味。通过 减少这些感觉的强度或不愉快的质量，我们可能能够帮助人们保持更好的 节食。这对于目前不吃水果和蔬菜等食物的人来说尤其有影响 因为这些人也有更高的风险患上与饮食有关的慢性疾病

Project Summary Many purportedly healthy foods taste bad. Frustratingly, certain molecules that cause unpleasant flavor sensations are often the exact same molecules thought to improve health (e.g., polyphenols in tea or chocolate may be good for heart health, but also taste bitter). Yet, despite the unpalatable nature of these molecules in isolation, some individuals develop preferences for foods rich in purportedly “unpalatable” flavors. For example, there are groups of likers and dislikers for spiciness, certain bitter foods, and healthier fats. If we could target a physiological means to shift flavor of the health-promoting molecules, we might be able to help the dislikers for these healthy foods switch to a healthier diet. Proteins present in human saliva have the potential to modify many of the unpalatable flavors in healthy foods. However, the flavor interactions of saliva have not been extensively tested and verified, and very little is known regarding how the amount of an individual's salivary proteins might change over time. Thus, we will 1) determine how proteins in saliva modify flavor, and 2) determine if frequent exposure to a flavor changes salivary expression. Establishing these baseline characteristics of how saliva influences flavor will allow us to better explain variability in flavor perception and liking. This could aid in future work to enhance the flavor of healthy foods. By reducing the intensity or unpleasant quality of these sensations, we may be able to help people maintain better diets. This would be particularly impactful for people who currently avoid foods such as fruits and vegetables due to poor palatability, as these individuals also carry higher risk for diet-related chronic disease