Humans Can Taste Starch

[brigadierbarty]

There is now a sixth taste – and it explains why we love carbs

Complex carbohydrates such as starch are made of chains of sugar molecules and are an important source of energy in our diets. However, food scientists have tended to ignore the idea that we might be able to specifically taste them, says Lim. Because enzymes in our saliva break starch down into shorter chains and simple sugars, many have assumed we detect starch by tasting these sweet molecules. Her team tested this by giving a range of different carbohydrate solutions to volunteers – who it turned out were able to detect a starch-like taste in solutions that contained long or shorter carbohydrate chains. “They called the taste ‘starchy’,” says Lim. “Asians would say it was rice-like, while Caucasians described it as bread-like or pasta-like. It’s like eating flour.”

Humans Can Taste Glucose Oligomers Independent of the hT1R2/hT1R3 Sweet Taste Receptor | Chemical Senses | Oxford Academic

Humans Can Taste Glucose Oligomers Independent of the hT1R2/hT1R3 Sweet Taste Receptor

It is widely accepted that humans can taste mono- and disaccharides as sweet substances, but they cannot taste longer chain oligo- and polysaccharides. From the evolutionary standpoint, the ability to taste starch or its oligomeric hydrolysis products would be highly adaptive, given their nutritional value. Here, we report that humans can taste glucose oligomer preparations (average degree of polymerization 7 and 14) without any other sensorial cues. The same human subjects could not taste the corresponding glucose polymer preparation (average degree of polymerization 44). When the sweet taste receptor was blocked by lactisole, a known sweet inhibitor, subjects could not detect sweet substances (glucose, maltose, and sucralose), but they could still detect the glucose oligomers. This suggests that glucose oligomer detection is independent of the hT1R2/hT1R3 sweet taste receptor. Human subjects described the taste of glucose oligomers as “starchy,” while they describe sugars as “sweet.” The dose–response function of glucose oligomer was also found to be indistinguishable from that of glucose on a molar basis.

 

[lvysaur]

Interesting stuff, but also "no duh". Otherwise people wouldn't crave potatoes and noodles.

 

[sladerunner69]

Yes starch has a peculuiar taste all its own, I would be surpised if anyone considerred this that momentous a discovery ebcause I am sure it is common traditional knowledge.