Unstimulated saliva: Background noise in taste molecules

Abstract

Saliva is a highly complex bodily fluid composed of many proteins, peptides, small organic molecules, and ions. Saliva is produced and secreted by the major and minor salivary glands to protect the mouth and to participate in digestion. Generally, a distinction is made between unstimulated saliva that is a result of autonomic stimulation and stimulated saliva that is produced during chewing and taste stimulation. The link between saliva and sensory perception can thus be regarded in two ways: the role of unstimulated saliva as a background taste and the mechanistic role of stimulated saliva during eating. Indeed, unstimulated saliva (and its components) is continuously bathing our oral cavity and as such stimulates our taste receptors, thus playing a role in taste sensitivity. However, the role of unstimulated salivary components in mediating taste has been studied only in very few substances. To explore this question, this review attempts to compare data from the literature on unstimulated salivary composition with those on taste sensitivity. The main conclusion centres around the concept that the gustatory self-adaptation phenomenon may be relevant for only a few salivary compounds. Further studies at the level of the salivary Von Ebner glands and salivary pellicle are necessary before arriving at definitive conclusions on this subject. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Unstimulated saliva contains taste substances that can influence sensory perception through taste adaptation. However, large inter-individual variability exists in unstimulated salivary composition both qualitatively and quantitatively. These differences may explain the variability in taste perception and thus the food choices and behaviors of an individual. Thus, in the context of providing personalized food and nutrition to the consumer, variability of unstimulated saliva should be considered for specific formulation of food products.

Keywords: amino acids; flavor; free fatty acids; ions; sensory thresholds; sugars; taste; unstimulated saliva.