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| Your Tongue |
Your Tongue
Your tongue is sensitive to warmth and cold, but it specializes in detecting the taste of liquids. The tongue is coated with about 10 000 taste buds. Each bud consists of a little pit lined with a cluster of sensory cells and the sensory cells are in contact with peripheral nerves. The taste buds at the tip of the tongue are most sensitive to sweetness. A little further back, the taste buds are most sensitive to saltiness. Behind those are taste buds sensitive to sourness, and at the back are taste buds sensitive to bitterness. Another set of taste buds is responsive to umami, a savoury taste. All other taste sensations can be described in terms of these basic tastes.
Under constant stimulation, the taste buds lose some sensitivity. A second chocolate is not as sweet as the first.
Taste sensations do not always provide an accurate indication of what you are eating because there are chemicals that can alter the sensitivity of your taste buds. For example, when monosodium glutamate is mixed with food, all four types of taste receptors are stimulated. An Indian plant called Gymnema sylvestre contains gymnemic acid, which reduces the sensitivity of the tongue to sweetness. A fruit from West Africa, Synsepalum dulcificum, has the effect of making sour substances taste sweet.
Your tongue is sensitive to warmth and cold, but it specializes in detecting the taste of liquids. The tongue is coated with about 10 000 taste buds. Each bud consists of a little pit lined with a cluster of sensory cells and the sensory cells are in contact with peripheral nerves. The taste buds at the tip of the tongue are most sensitive to sweetness. A little further back, the taste buds are most sensitive to saltiness. Behind those are taste buds sensitive to sourness, and at the back are taste buds sensitive to bitterness. Another set of taste buds is responsive to umami, a savoury taste. All other taste sensations can be described in terms of these basic tastes.
Under constant stimulation, the taste buds lose some sensitivity. A second chocolate is not as sweet as the first.
Taste sensations do not always provide an accurate indication of what you are eating because there are chemicals that can alter the sensitivity of your taste buds. For example, when monosodium glutamate is mixed with food, all four types of taste receptors are stimulated. An Indian plant called Gymnema sylvestre contains gymnemic acid, which reduces the sensitivity of the tongue to sweetness. A fruit from West Africa, Synsepalum dulcificum, has the effect of making sour substances taste sweet.
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