Background: Smoking is the cause of inducing changes in taste functionality under conditions of chronic exposure. The objective of this study was to evaluate taste sensitivity in young smokers and non-smokers and identify any differences in the shape, density and vascularisation of the fungiform papillae (fPap) of their tongue.
Methods: Sixty-two male subjects who served in the Greek military forces were randomly chosen for this study. Thirty-four were non-smokers and 28 smokers. Smokers were chosen on the basis of their habit to hold the cigarette at the centre of their lips. Taste thresholds were measured with Electrogustometry (EGM). The morphology and density of the fungiform papillae (fPap) at the tip of the tongue were examined with Contact Endoscopy (CE).
Results: There was found statistically important difference (p < 0.05) between the taste thresholds of the two groups although not all smokers presented with elevated taste thresholds: Six of them (21%) had taste thresholds similar to those of non-smokers. Differences concerning the shape and the vessels of the fungiform papillae between the groups were also detected. Fewer and flatter fPap were found in 22 smokers (79%).
Conclusion: The majority of smokers shown elevated taste thresholds in comparison to non-smokers. Smoking is an important factor which can lead to decreased taste sensitivity. The combination of methods, such as EGM and CE, can provide useful information about the vascularisation of taste buds and their functional ability.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6815-9-9 | DOI Listing |
Food Res Int
February 2025
Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 26, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark. Electronic address:
Currently, little is known about how complex carbohydrates (maltodextrins) with varying degrees of polymerisation (DP) and molecular branching interact with α-amylase in human saliva and the associated amounts and structures of generated reducing sugars. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate salivary α-amylase and the subsequent reducing sugars generated with complex carbohydrate stimuli. A secondary aim was to investigate reducing sugar generation and complex carbohydrate taste sensitivity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFood Chem
January 2025
Department of Food Engineering and Technology, School of Food Engineering, State University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil. Electronic address:
Threshold determination forms an integral part of sensory and consumer studies applied for product control and development. The authors examined the potential of an impedimetric electronic tongue to discriminate basic tastes and consider limitations pertaining to the sensory evaluation process. Three samples at lower, medium, and higher concentration levels of basic taste compounds were prepared and subjected to consumer studies (n = 60) using the difference from-control (DFC) test.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Eat Disord
January 2025
Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Background: Individuals with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) self-report heightened sensitivity to taste and smell, but neither phenomenon has been systematically explored in the laboratory. We hypothesized that, compared to healthy controls (HC, n = 34), children, adolescents, and adults with full/subthreshold ARFID (n = 100; ages 9 to 23 years) would self-report heightened response to taste/smell stimuli and exhibit stronger bitter taste perception and heightened smell perception in performance-based tasks, and these differences would be especially prominent in those with the ARFID-sensory sensitivity presentation.
Method: We measured self-reported sensitivity to taste/smell with the adolescent/adult sensory profile (AASP).
Eur J Neurosci
January 2025
Smell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Target odorant detection in mixtures has been shown to become more difficult as the number of background odorants increases and falls below chance level in mixtures with 16 components. Our aim was to investigate target odorant detection in mixtures among healthy people and compare it between dysosmic patients and age- and gender-matched controls. Participants underwent extensive olfactory testing and performed two target odorant detection tasks.
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