There are five basic tastes—sour, salty, sweet, bitter, and“umami.” Salt is detected when the concentration of salt outside of a taste bud cell is higher than that inside of it, and ionchannels allow the passive leakage of Na+into the cell. Theresulting change in membrane potential (see Concept 7.4)sends the “salty” signal to the brain. Umami is a savory tastegenerated by glutamate (glutamic acid, found in monosodiumglutamate, or MSG), which is used as a flavor enhancer in foodssuch as taco-flavored tortilla chips. The glutamate receptor is aGPCR, which, when bound, initiates a signaling pathway thatends with a cellular response, perceived by you as “taste.” If youeat a regular potato chip and then rinse your mouth, you willno longer taste salt. But if you eat a flavored tortilla chip andthen rinse, the taste persists. (Try it!) Propose a possible explanation for this difference.
There are five basic tastes—sour, salty, sweet, bitter, and
“umami.” Salt is detected when the concentration of salt outside of a taste bud cell is higher than that inside of it, and ion
channels allow the passive leakage of Na+
into the cell. The
resulting change in membrane potential (see Concept 7.4)
sends the “salty” signal to the brain. Umami is a savory taste
generated by glutamate (glutamic acid, found in monosodium
glutamate, or MSG), which is used as a flavor enhancer in foods
such as taco-flavored tortilla chips. The glutamate receptor is a
GPCR, which, when bound, initiates a signaling pathway that
ends with a cellular response, perceived by you as “taste.” If you
eat a regular potato chip and then rinse your mouth, you will
no longer taste salt. But if you eat a flavored tortilla chip and
then rinse, the taste persists. (Try it!) Propose a possible explanation for this difference.
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