Biochemical Analysis and Sensing Techniques

Taste receptors on the tongue and throughout the gut do far more than signal pleasure or disgust — they are molecular sensors that trigger hormonal responses, shape food intake, and communicate directly with gut microbiota in ways that influence metabolic health. Research in this area maps how sweet, bitter, and umami signaling pathways work at the cellular level, and asks why individuals respond so differently to the same compounds, from natural sugars to artificial sweeteners like saccharin and aspartame. A pressing concern is whether chronic exposure to non-caloric sweeteners quietly disrupts glucose tolerance and microbial balance even when caloric load is reduced. Investigators are also untangling how genetic variation in taste receptor genes — particularly TAS1R and TAS2R families — interacts with diet history and microbiome composition to alter sensory perception in ways that matter for dietary counseling and metabolic disease prevention.

Works

63,626

Total citations

1,246,335

Keywords

Taste ReceptorsSweet TasteBitter TasteArtificial SweetenersGut MicrobiotaGlucose Intolerance