Rat taste nerve responses to salts carrying cations of large molecular size; are the taste responses to the salts induced by cation transport across apical membranes of taste cells?

Role of taste receptors in salty taste perception of minerals and amino acids and developments in salt reduction strategies: A review

Salt (sodium chloride) plays a key role in maintaining the textural, microbiological, and sensorial aspects of the foods. However high dietary salt intake in the population has led to a series of health problems. Currently manufacturers are under pressure to reduce the sodium levels in foods without compromising the consumer experience. Because of the clean salty taste produced by sodium chloride, it has been challenging for the food industry to develop a suitable salt substitute. Studies have shown that different components within a food matrix can influence the perception of saltiness. This review aims to comprehend the potential synergistic effect of compounds such as minerals and amino acids on the perception of saltiness and covers the mechanism of perception where relevant to taste resulting from sodium ions and other metallic ions (such as K, Mg, Ca), as well as various amino acids and their derivatives. Finally, the review summarizes various salt reduction strategies explored by researchers, government organizations and food industry, including the potential use of plant-based extracts.

Forty mouse strain survey of voluntary calcium intake, blood calcium, and bone mineral content

We measured voluntary calcium intake, blood calcium, and bone mineral content of male and female mice from 40 inbred strains. Calcium intakes were assessed using 48-h two-bottle tests with a choice between water and one of the following: water, 7.5, 25, and 75 mM CaCl(2), then 7.5, 25, and 75 mM calcium lactate (CaLa). Intakes were affected by strain, sex, anion, and concentration. In 11 strains females consumed more calcium than did males and in the remaining 29 strains there were no sex differences. Nine strains drank more CaLa than CaCl(2) whereas only one strain (JF1/Ms) drank more CaCl(2) than CaLa. Some strains had consistently high calcium intakes and preferred all calcium solutions relative to water (e.g., PWK/PhJ, BTBR T(+)tf/J, JF1/Ms). Others had consistently low calcium intakes and avoided all calcium solutions relative to water (e.g., KK/H1J, C57BL/10J, CE/J, C58/J). After behavioral tests, blood was sampled and assayed for pH, ionized calcium concentration, and plasma total calcium concentration. Bone mineral density and content were assessed by DEXA. There were no significant correlations between any of these physiological measures and calcium intake. However, strains of mice that had the highest calcium intakes generally fell at the extremes of the physiological distributions. We conclude that the avidity for calcium is determined by different genetic architecture and thus different physiological mechanisms in different strains.

Qualitative differences of divalent salts: multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis

Sensations from salts of iron, calcium, magnesium, and zinc with different anions were studied using a sorting task and multidimensional scaling (MDS). Ten divalent salts were adjusted in concentrations such that the mean intensity ratings were approximately equal. Stimuli were sorted on the basis of similarity to minimize any semantic influence and were examined with and without nasal occlusion to eliminate retronasal cues. Compounds representing the four primary tastes and astringency were also sorted. Similarity estimates were derived from sorting and were submitted to MDS. Divalent salts fell outside the area of the space defined by the four primary tastes. The nose-open condition showed that some of the divalent salts have unique metallic sensations along with astringency. The groupings obtained were corroborated using single-linkage cluster analysis. An iron group was most distinctive in metallic sensations; calcium and magnesium salts were primarily bitter; and zinc salts were characterized by astringency. When nasal cues were not available, the sensations from the divalent salts were mainly explained by bitterness and astringency. Results were consistent with a previous evaluation of divalent salts using descriptive analysis.

Calcium: taste, intake, and appetite

This review summarizes research on sensory and behavioral aspects of calcium homeostasis. These are fragmented fields, with essentially independent lines of research involving gustatory electrophysiology in amphibians, ethological studies in wild birds, nutritional studies in poultry, and experimental behavioral studies focused primarily on characterizing the specificity of the appetite in rats. Recently, investigators have begun to examine potential physiological mechanisms underlying calcium intake and appetite. These include changes in the taste perception of calcium, signals related to blood calcium concentrations, and actions of the primary hormones of calcium homeostasis: parathyroid hormone, calcitonin, and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. Other influences on calcium intake include reproductive and adrenal hormones and learning. The possibility that a calcium appetite exists in humans is discussed. The broad range of observations documenting the existence of a behavioral limb of calcium homeostasis provides a strong foundation for future genetic and physiological analyses of this behavior.

Liposome-induced release of cell membrane proteins from intact tissue epithelium

During extraction and purification, membrane proteins very often undergo denaturation and deactivation. To overcome this problem, the authors have tried to establish a better methodology to make the study at in vivo tissue level, not at the isolated cellular level, possible and easier. This is in vivo direct exposure of animal tissue to the liposome that contains an artificial boundary lipid (D14DPC, 1,2-dimyristamido-1,2,-deoxyphosphatidylcholine). Bullfrog and rat tongues were used. To confirm the reasonableness of this methodology, several different techniques were adopted; the nerve response study, gel electrophoretic analysis, quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurement and the affinity gelchromatography. When the tongue was exposed to the D14DPC-containing DMPC liposome, a significant amount of membrane protein was found in the recovered liposome (this was the production of proteoliposome). The nerve response in the neurophysiological measurement to several taste stimuli, such as L-alanine, L-leucine, sucrose and quinine hydrochloride significantly decreased when the tongue was exposed to the same liposome. These phenomena were common to both bullfrog and rat tongues. The nerve response to the stimulation with L-alanine was the most remarkably affected in the liposomal treatment. Therefore, the L-alanine-binding protein was focused upon to confirm the reasonableness of the QCM measurement and the affinity gelchromatography. The D14DPC-containing proteoliposome always showed significant binding to both the L-alanine affinity gel and the L-alanine-conjugated QCM. The results revealed that membrane proteins can be directly and effectively released, even from intact animal tissue epithelium, using the artificial boundary lipid-containing liposome.

Light and electron microscopical demonstration of methylene blue accumulation sites in taste buds of fish and mouse after supravital dye injection

Electron microscopical data regarding methylene blue staining of taste buds in the epithelia of the goldfish lip and the cirumvallate papilla of the mouse tongue after supravital dye application are presented for the first time. The ultrastructural details were compared with the corresponding light microscopical findings. The dye was applied in different concentrations by injection or in crystalline from directly to the surface of the tissues. Both methylene blue and tissue were simultaneously fixed by immersion in a paraformaldehyde-glutaraldehyde solution with the addition of phosphomolybdic acid. The ensuing dye precipitate was further stabilized by ammonium heptamolybdate. On the light microscopical level, the taste bud's receptive structures, i.e. the receptor area (fish) and the taste pit (mouse), exhibited the highest affinity for the dye. Additionally, the mucous material within the trenches around the circumvallate papillae in mice was intensely stained. On the electron microscopical level, the cationic phenothiazine dye bound to the receptor villi or to the mucus coating the receptive structures. In the case of higher dye concentrations, a staining of single taste bud cells took place starting apically and proceeding down to the base. Dye accumulations within the intercellular clefts between the epithelial cells or within other structures were observed only if the dye concentration was further increased. Since similar results were also obtained with the cationic phenazo dye Janus green, dye accumulation in the mucus covering the receptor villi may be representative of the general binding of organic cations, which are known to induce bitter taste sensations.