Can humans smell tastants?

Publisher: Oxford University Press Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 8217190 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1464-3553 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 0379864X NLM ISO Abbreviation: Chem Senses Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: Oxford : Oxford University Press
Original Publication: [London : IRL Press, c1980-

Smell* ; Sodium Chloride*; Humans ; Sodium Glutamate ; Quinine ; Mineral Oil ; Taste ; Water ; Sucrose ; Citric Acid/pharmacology ; Linoleic Acids

Although studies have shown that olfaction may contribute to the perception of tastant, literature is scarce or circumstantial, especially in humans. This study aims to (i) explore whether humans can perceive solutions of basic prototypical tastants through orthonasal and retronasal olfaction and (ii) to examine what volatile odor compounds (VOCs) underlie this ability. Solutions of 5 basic tastants (sucrose, sodium chloride, citric acid, monosodium glutamate [MSG], quinine) dissolved in water, and 2 fatty acids (oleic and linoleic acid) dissolved in mineral oil were prepared. Triangle discrimination tests were performed (n = 41 in duplicate) to assess whether the tastant solutions can be distinguished from blanks (solvents) through ortho- and retronasal olfaction. Participants were able to distinguish all tastant solutions from blank through orthonasal olfaction. Only sucrose, sodium chloride, oleic acid, and linoleic acid were distinguished from blank by retronasal olfaction. Ethyl dichloroacetate, methylene chloride, and/or acetone were identified in the headspace of sucrose, MSG, and quinine solutions but not in the headspace of water, sodium chloride, and citric acid solutions. Fat oxidation compounds such as alcohols and aldehydes were detected in the headspace of the oleic and linoleic acid solutions but not the mineral oil. We conclude that prototypical tastant solutions can be discriminated from water and fatty acid solutions from mineral oil through orthonasal olfaction. Differences in the volatile headspace composition between blanks and tastant solutions may have facilitated the olfactory discrimination. These findings can have methodological implications for future studies assessing gustatory perception using these prototypical taste compounds.
(© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press.)

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201906350090 Chinese Scholarship Council

Keywords: ITEX-GC-MS; fatty acid; odor; olfactory discrimination; tastant

451W47IQ8X (Sodium Chloride)
W81N5U6R6U (Sodium Glutamate)
A7V27PHC7A (Quinine)
8020-83-5 (Mineral Oil)
059QF0KO0R (Water)
57-50-1 (Sucrose)
2968PHW8QP (Citric Acid)
0 (Linoleic Acids)

Date Created: 20240104 Date Completed: 20240126 Latest Revision: 20241023

20250114

PMC10807988

10.1093/chemse/bjad054

38175732