tastant

(noun)

any substance that stimulates the sense of taste

Related Terms

  • odorant
  • papilla

Examples of tastant in the following topics:

  • Reception and Transduction

    • Odorants and tastants produce signal molecules received by receptors, which are then processed by the brain to identify smells and tastes.
    • Thus, like olfaction, each receptor is specific to its stimulus (tastant).
    • Sour tastants are acids which belong to the thermoreceptor protein family.
    • Sweet, bitter, and umami tastants require a G-protein-coupled receptor.
    • These tastants bind to their respective receptors, thereby exciting the specialized neurons associated with them.
  • Gustation: Taste Buds and Taste

    • Specialized cells in the gustatory system that are located on the tongue are called taste buds, and they sense tastants (taste molecules).
    • The taste buds send the information from the tastants to the brain, where a molecule is processed as a certain taste.
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