I came across an interesting article on the science of taste while browsing through the current issue of "Gourmet" magazine (July 2008 pp 46-48). While the article doesn't go into much detail, it does cite the work of sensory scientists Terry Acree at Cornell, Michael O'Mahony at UC Davis, and Linda Bartoshuck, formerly at Yale's School of Medicine and now at the U of Florida Dental College.

The assertion is that there are no basic tastes. There are about 40 taste receptors located all over the inside of the mouth, not just on the tongue. There are more than 4 or 5 kinds of taste receptors and more then 4 ways a chemical can react with a receptor and there are more than 4 types of neural codes the receptors can send to the brain. In order to be tasted a substance must be dissolved in saliva and come into contact with the small receptors found in taste buds.

I didn't do exhaustive research, but I did spend a few hours poking around the web checking out the work of the people cited in the article to validate the content of the article and to see what other work I could find on the topic, particularly the role of saliva in taste.

Much of the work in this area is being done by food scientists. The wine industry is also very interested. There is some attention from medical people, for example, Linda Bartoshuk who is known for work on "supertasters". I found a Taste and Smell Clinic in Washinton DC run by Robert Henkin, MD that treats people with taste and smell disorders. http://tasteandsmell.com/index.html.

The Clinic webpages contain more detailed info about taste receptors. The the upper most surface of the receptor cells are covered with rod-like structures called cillia. These are coated with saliva and the chemical substances dissolved in the saliva bind to them, initiating the process of tasting. The smell process works similarly using nasal fluids. (http://tasteandsmell.com/jun08.htm)

Also on these pages, I learned that taste buds are replaced frequently and chemical components of saliva are essential for the production of new taste buds. Finally, I found that hypothyroidism (lack of thyroid) is cited as a factor in reduced functions of both taste and smell.

Like many others on these forums, my sense of taste is greatly reduced and I don't have much saliva inspite of taking salagen. I also take a thyroid supplement. Eating is still a chore when it used to be a real pleasure. I look at the pictures and browse the articles in "Gourmet" to remember what food used to be like and what it may be again some day.

I thought others might be interested in the topic of taste and it's relationship to saliva.

Marilyn