Why is fat so tasty? Chemical reception of fatty acid on the tongue

Fatty foods are very palatable. Most mammals, including humans, prefer high-fat food to low-fat food. Neuropeptides and neurotransmitters, which are related to the hedonic or aversive response in the brain, are released after a basic tastant (i.e., sweet, sour, salty, bitter or umami) is accepted by...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology 2007, Vol.53(1), pp.1-4
Main Authors: Mizushige, T.(Kyoto Univ. (Japan)), Inoue, K, Fushiki, T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ACIDE GRAS
ACIDOS GRASOS
Animals
APPETABILITE
Biological and medical sciences
BRAIN
Brain - physiology
CD36/FAT
CELLS
CELLULE
CELULAS
CEREBRO
CHEMORECEPTORS
CHIMIORECEPTEUR
CORPS GRAS
dietary fat
Dietary Fats
DOPAMINA
DOPAMINE
Electrophysiology
ENCEPHALE
ENDORFINAS
ENDORPHINE
ENDORPHINS
FATS
FATTY ACIDS
Fatty Acids - chemistry
Fatty Acids - metabolism
Feeding Behavior
Feeding. Feeding behavior
FLAVEUR
FLAVOUR
Food Preferences
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
GRASAS
Humans
LANGUE
LENGUA
PALATABILIDAD
PALATABILITY
QUIMIORECEPTORES
SABOR
Sensory Receptor Cells - physiology
Signal Transduction
taste
Taste - physiology
TONGUE
Tongue - metabolism
Tongue - physiology
Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems
β-endorphin
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Summary:Fatty foods are very palatable. Most mammals, including humans, prefer high-fat food to low-fat food. Neuropeptides and neurotransmitters, which are related to the hedonic or aversive response in the brain, are released after a basic tastant (i.e., sweet, sour, salty, bitter or umami) is accepted by the taste receptors in the taste bud cells. In addition, recent evidence suggests that dietary fat, especially free fatty acids, may be perceived chemically in taste bud cells as well as the basic tastant. Recently, it was suggested that long-chain fatty acids accepted into CD36/FAT, a long-chain fatty acid transporter, in circumvallate papillae of the tongue play an extremely important role in the palatability of dietary fat. In this review, we describe the studies on the reception of fatty acids in the oral cavity, and on the signal transmission from the oral cavity to the brain. We hypothesize that long-chain fatty acids are recognized on the tongue, and then neuropeptides and neurotransmitters such as β-endorphin and dopamine are released in the brain. We suggest that this knowledge is one of the mechanisms of the palatability of dietary fat.
ISSN:0301-4800
1881-7742
DOI:10.3177/jnsv.53.1