Several studies have focused on identifying the factors that lead to divergent conclusions about the role of the PROP phenotype in taste perception, food preferences, and nutrition. One of the major issues is the difficulty in obtaining an objective measure of the taste phenotype. Here we present direct measures of the gustatory system activation, by electrophysiological recordings from the tongue, in thirty subjects classified by PROP taster status and genotyped for TAS2R38. The potentials generated by PROP stimulation were recorded by means of differential electrophysiological derivations between two silver electrodes, one in contact with the ventral surface of the tongue and one in perfect adhesion with the dorsal surface. The signals were recorded by a polygraph for human use and visualized in real time on PC. The electrotastegrams (ETGs) were analyzed by Clampfit 10.0 software and validated by comparing the voltage amplitude of signals with the perceived PROP bitterness intensity, PROP taster status and TAS2R38 genotypes. The ETGs showed that PROP stimulation evoked negative monophasic potentials characterized by a fast initial rise followed by a slow decline. These potentials represent the measure of the summated voltage change resulting from the response of stimulated taste cells. The amplitude of potentials was highly correlated with the perceived PROP bitterness intensity (p< 0.0001), with voltage reaching as high as 120 mV in super-taster who were homozygous for the tasting variant (PAV) of TAS2R38. The depolarization amplitude, as well as depolarization rate, were associated with PROP taster status and TAS2R38 diplotypes. The direct relationship between the potentials recorded and the parameters defining PROP phenotype show that ETG is a simple and reliable technology for the quantitative measure of the peripheral taste function, which may find application as an objective investigation tool in studies aimed at evaluating eating behavior and taste function impairment.
Electrophysiological recordings from the tongue for the objective evaluation of individual variations of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) sensitivity
MELIS, MELANIA;SOLLAI, GIORGIA;PANI, DANILO;COSSEDDU, PIERO;CRNJAR, ROBERTO MASSIMO;BONFIGLIO, ANNALISA;TOMASSINI BARBAROSSA, IOLE
2017-01-01
Abstract
Several studies have focused on identifying the factors that lead to divergent conclusions about the role of the PROP phenotype in taste perception, food preferences, and nutrition. One of the major issues is the difficulty in obtaining an objective measure of the taste phenotype. Here we present direct measures of the gustatory system activation, by electrophysiological recordings from the tongue, in thirty subjects classified by PROP taster status and genotyped for TAS2R38. The potentials generated by PROP stimulation were recorded by means of differential electrophysiological derivations between two silver electrodes, one in contact with the ventral surface of the tongue and one in perfect adhesion with the dorsal surface. The signals were recorded by a polygraph for human use and visualized in real time on PC. The electrotastegrams (ETGs) were analyzed by Clampfit 10.0 software and validated by comparing the voltage amplitude of signals with the perceived PROP bitterness intensity, PROP taster status and TAS2R38 genotypes. The ETGs showed that PROP stimulation evoked negative monophasic potentials characterized by a fast initial rise followed by a slow decline. These potentials represent the measure of the summated voltage change resulting from the response of stimulated taste cells. The amplitude of potentials was highly correlated with the perceived PROP bitterness intensity (p< 0.0001), with voltage reaching as high as 120 mV in super-taster who were homozygous for the tasting variant (PAV) of TAS2R38. The depolarization amplitude, as well as depolarization rate, were associated with PROP taster status and TAS2R38 diplotypes. The direct relationship between the potentials recorded and the parameters defining PROP phenotype show that ETG is a simple and reliable technology for the quantitative measure of the peripheral taste function, which may find application as an objective investigation tool in studies aimed at evaluating eating behavior and taste function impairment.
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