[The sense of taste]

Abstract

The taste sense is one of the five human senses. It is essential to our survival because it enables the individual the choice of correct food, which, in turn, is crucial for one's existence, maintenance and function. This is a complicated chemical sense, which operates in conjunction with other senses such as vision, smell and touch, and is also associated with the operation of temperature and consistency receptors. There are five basic tastes: bitter, sweet, sour, salty and "fleshy" (umami), each of which has a role in food selection, being responsible for the recognition of certain chemicals, which may be either necessary or dangerous to our body. The taste cell is located in the taste buds, which, in turn, are situated in the tongue, oral cavity and the proximal third of the esophagus. This translates the chemical signal of tastants in food to electrical stimulation that transfers the signal to higher processing centers in the brain, in a process called transduction, which is explained in this review. Disturbances in the taste sense, as well as effects of industrial exposure on this sense are also described. The accumulated knowledge about the taste sense might enable future breakthroughs in the processed food industry.