Taste responsiveness of Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) to five food-associated saccharides.

Using a two-bottle choice test of short duration, we determined taste preference thresholds for sucrose, fructose, glucose, lactose, and maltose in three Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus). Further, we assessed relative preferences for these five saccharides when presented at equimolar concentrations and determined taste preference difference thresholds for sucrose, that is, the smallest concentration difference at which the chimpanzees display a preference for one of the two options. We found that the chimpanzees significantly preferred concentrations as low as 20 mM sucrose, 40 mM fructose, and 80 mM glucose, lactose, and maltose over tap water.