Salivary interactions with chemosensation

项目摘要 许多据称是健康的食物味道都不好。令人沮丧的是，某些分子会导致难闻的味道 感觉通常是被认为可以改善健康的相同分子(例如，茶或巧克力中的多酚 可能对心脏健康有好处，但也有苦味)。然而，尽管这些分子的性质令人不快，但 与世隔绝，一些人养成了对据称富含“令人不快”味道的食物的偏好。例如, 对于辛辣、某些苦味食物和更健康的脂肪，有喜欢的人和不喜欢的人。如果我们能把目标锁定在 通过生理手段改变促进健康的分子的味道，我们或许能够帮助那些不喜欢的人 这些健康食品会转向更健康的饮食。 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，唾液的风味相互作用还没有得到广泛的测试和验证，而且知之甚少。 关于一个人的唾液蛋白质的数量可能会随着时间的推移而变化。因此，我们将1) 确定唾液中的蛋白质如何改变味道，以及2)确定频繁接触某种味道是否会发生变化 唾液表情。 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 口味感知和喜好的可变性。这可能有助于未来提高健康食品风味的工作。通过 减少这些感觉的强度或不愉快的性质，我们或许能够帮助人们更好地保持 节食。这将对目前不吃水果和蔬菜等食物的人产生特别的影响 由于适口性差，因为这些人患上与饮食有关的慢性病的风险也更高

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