Chapter 16.3, Problem 4AYLO

Summary Introduction

To discuss:

Mechanisms by which sugars, salts, alkaloids, acids, and glutamate excite taste cells.

Introduction:

The taste sense is also referred to as gustation, which begins with the taste buds (about 4000). The taste buds are composed of sensory cells that are involved in chemical stimulation. These taste buds are lemon-shaped group of cells (50 to 150) and include supporting cells, taste cells, and basal cells. The gustatory or taste cells are nearly banana shaped and possess a tuft of microvilli (apical) referred to as taste hairs and work as receptor surfaces for the chemical stimuli (tastants). The supporting cells look like taste cells but does not have a sensory role or synaptic vesicle. On an average, taste cell survives only for seven to ten days. The basal cells are stem cells that undergo multiplication, thereby play an important role in replacing the dead taste cells.