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1.
Taste and smell disturbances in cancer patients: a scoping review of available treatments.
Sevryugin, O, Kasvis, P, Vigano, M, Vigano, A
Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer. 2021;(1):49-66
Abstract
PURPOSE Taste and smell disturbances in patients affected by cancer are very common, but often under-recognized symptoms. If not addressed properly, they may impact nutritional status, food enjoyment, and quality of life. Treatment tools available for clinicians to manage chemosensory alterations are limited and are often based on personal clinical experiences. The aim of this study was to assess current oncological and palliative care literature through a scoping review, in order to identify available treatments for taste and smell alterations in cancer patients. METHODS Medline, Embase, CINAHL, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, and Google Scholar were searched from inception until January 2020, with subject headings relevant to the domains of chemosensory alterations, palliative, and cancer care. A total of 10,718 English and French language publications were reviewed, yielding 43 articles on the researched topic. RESULTS The heterogeneity of selected articles led to difficulties in interpretation and analysis of the available evidence. Included publications differed in study design, population sample, anticancer treatments, and measures of assessment for taste and smell disturbances. A broad variety of treatment options were described including zinc and polaprezinc, radio-protectors, vitamins and supplements, anti-xerostomia agents, active swallowing exercises, nutritional interventions, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, and photobiomodulation. CONCLUSION This scoping review identifies the current state of knowledge regarding chemosensory alterations within supportive cancer care. Despite not reaching firm conclusions, this article offers therapeutic venues to further explore in larger and more methodologically sound studies.
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2.
Perceived food palatability, blood glucose level and future discounting: Lack of evidence for blood glucose level's impact on reward discounting.
Muda, R, Sawicki, P, Ginszt, M
PloS one. 2021;(8):e0255484
Abstract
Some previous studies have shown that an increase in blood glucose level makes people more future oriented, however, results are inconsistent, other studies failing to replicate this effect. Here, we tested whether psychological factors (in this instance, perception of food pleasantness after consumption of more palatable or less palatable meal) can play a moderating role. We hypothesized that consuming more palatable food (perceived as rewarding) should cause blood glucose levels to affect future discounting, but that this should not occur for the consumption of less palatable food. A high-powered, independent groups experiment (N = 149, power β = .90) showed that, subsequent to performing an initial discounting task, the two groups consuming a meal (a control group consumed no meal) displayed a significant increase in blood glucose levels 10 minutes after meal consumption and just before repeating the discounting task. However, the increased blood glucose levels did not cause changes in delay discounting in either experimental group.
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3.
Functional molecular switches of mammalian G protein-coupled bitter-taste receptors.
Topin, J, Bouysset, C, Pacalon, J, Kim, Y, Rhyu, MR, Fiorucci, S, Golebiowski, J
Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS. 2021;(23):7605-7615
Abstract
Bitter taste receptors (TAS2Rs) are a poorly understood subgroup of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The experimental structure of these receptors has yet to be determined, and key-residues controlling their function remain mostly unknown. We designed an integrative approach to improve comparative modeling of TAS2Rs. Using current knowledge on class A GPCRs and existing experimental data in the literature as constraints, we pinpointed conserved motifs to entirely re-align the amino-acid sequences of TAS2Rs. We constructed accurate homology models of human TAS2Rs. As a test case, we examined the accuracy of the TAS2R16 model with site-directed mutagenesis and in vitro functional assays. This combination of in silico and in vitro results clarifies sequence-function relationships and proposes functional molecular switches that encode agonist sensing and downstream signaling mechanisms within mammalian TAS2Rs sequences.
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4.
Differences in Salivary Proteins as a Function of PROP Taster Status and Gender in Normal Weight and Obese Subjects.
Melis, M, Mastinu, M, Pintus, S, Cabras, T, Crnjar, R, Tomassini Barbarossa, I
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland). 2021;(8)
Abstract
Taste plays an important role in processes such as food choices, nutrition status and health. Salivary proteins contribute to taste sensitivity. Taste reduction has been associated with obesity. Gender influences the obesity predisposition and the genetic ability to perceive the bitterness of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP), oral marker for food preferences and consumption. We investigated variations in the profile of salivary proteome, analyzed by HPLC-ESI-MS, between sixty-one normal weight subjects (NW) and fifty-seven subjects with obesity (OB), based on gender and PROP sensitivity. Results showed variations of taste-related salivary proteins between NW and OB, which were differently associated with gender and PROP sensitivity. High levels of Ps-1, II-2 and IB-1 proteins belonging to basic proline rich proteins (bPRPs) and PRP-1 protein belonging to acid proline rich proteins (aPRPs) were found in OB males, who showed a lower body mass index (BMI) than OB females. High levels of Ps-1 protein and Cystatin SN (Cyst SN) were found in OB non-tasters, who had lower BMI than OB super-tasters. These new insights on the role of salivary proteins as a factor driving the specific weight gain of OB females and super-tasters, suggest the use of specific proteins as a strategic tool modifying taste responses related to eating behavior.
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5.
Macronutrient Sensing in the Oral Cavity and Gastrointestinal Tract: Alimentary Tastes.
Keast, R, Costanzo, A, Hartley, I
Nutrients. 2021;(2)
Abstract
There are numerous and diverse factors enabling the overconsumption of foods, with the sense of taste being one of these factors. There are four well established basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter; all with perceptual independence, salience, and hedonic responses to encourage or discourage consumption. More recently, additional tastes have been added to the basic taste list including umami and fat, but they lack the perceptual independence and salience of the basics. There is also emerging evidence of taste responses to kokumi and carbohydrate. One interesting aspect is the link with the new and emerging tastes to macronutrients, with each macronutrient having two distinct perceptual qualities that, perhaps in combination, provide a holistic perception for each macronutrient: fat has fat taste and mouthfeel; protein has umami and kokumi; carbohydrate has sweet and carbohydrate tastes. These new tastes can be sensed in the oral cavity, but they have more influence post- than pre-ingestion. Umami, fat, kokumi, and carbohydrate tastes have been suggested as an independent category named alimentary. This narrative review will present and discuss evidence for macronutrient sensing throughout the alimentary canal and evidence of how each of the alimentary tastes may influence the consumption of foods.
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6.
Epigenetics and Modulations of Early Flavor Experiences: Can Metabolomics Contribute to Prevention during Weaning?
Dessì, A, Bosco, A, Pintus, R, Picari, G, Mazza, S, Fanos, V
Nutrients. 2021;(10)
Abstract
The significant increase in chronic non-communicable diseases has changed the global epidemiological landscape. Among these, obesity is the most relevant in the pediatric field. This has pushed the world of research towards a new paradigm: preventive and predictive medicine. Therefore, the window of extreme plasticity that characterizes the first stage of development cannot be underestimated. In this context, nutrition certainly plays a primary role, being one of the most important epigenetic modulators known to date. Weaning, therefore, has a crucial role that must be analyzed far beyond the simple achievement of nutritional needs. Furthermore, the taste experience and the family context are fundamental for future food choices and can no longer be underestimated. The use of metabolomics allows, through the recognition of early disease markers and food-specific metabolites, the planning of an individualized and precise diet. In addition, the possibility of identifying particular groups of subjects at risk and the careful monitoring of adherence to dietary therapy may represent the basis for this change.
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7.
Oral Microbiota Profile Associates with Sugar Intake and Taste Preference Genes.
Esberg, A, Haworth, S, Hasslöf, P, Lif Holgerson, P, Johansson, I
Nutrients. 2020;(3)
Abstract
Oral microbiota ecology is influenced by environmental and host conditions, but few studies have evaluated associations between untargeted measures of the entire oral microbiome and potentially relevant environmental and host factors. This study aimed to identify salivary microbiota cluster groups using hierarchical cluster analyses (Wards method) based on 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, and identify lifestyle and host factors which were associated with these groups. Group members (n = 175) were distinctly separated by microbiota profiles and differed in reported sucrose intake and allelic variation in the taste-preference-associated genes TAS1R1 (rs731024) and GNAT3 (rs2074673). Groups with higher sucrose intake were either characterized by a wide panel of species or phylotypes with fewer aciduric species, or by a narrower profile that included documented aciduric- and caries-associated species. The inferred functional profiles of the latter type were dominated by metabolic pathways associated with the carbohydrate metabolism with enrichment of glycosidase functions. In conclusion, this study supported in vivo associations between sugar intake and oral microbiota ecology, but it also found evidence for a variable microbiota response to sugar, highlighting the importance of modifying host factors and microbes beyond the commonly targeted acidogenic and acid-tolerant species. The results should be confirmed under controlled settings with comprehensive phenotypic and genotypic data.
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8.
Rational design of agonists for bitter taste receptor TAS2R14: from modeling to bench and back.
Di Pizio, A, Waterloo, LAW, Brox, R, Löber, S, Weikert, D, Behrens, M, Gmeiner, P, Niv, MY
Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS. 2020;(3):531-542
Abstract
Human bitter taste receptors (TAS2Rs) are a subfamily of 25 G protein-coupled receptors that mediate bitter taste perception. TAS2R14 is the most broadly tuned bitter taste receptor, recognizing a range of chemically diverse agonists with micromolar-range potency. The receptor is expressed in several extra-oral tissues and is suggested to have physiological roles related to innate immune responses, male fertility, and cancer. Higher potency ligands are needed to investigate TAS2R14 function and to modulate it for future clinical applications. Here, a structure-based modeling approach is described for the design of TAS2R14 agonists beginning from flufenamic acid, an approved non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesic that activates TAS2R14 at sub-micromolar concentrations. Structure-based molecular modeling was integrated with experimental data to design new TAS2R14 agonists. Subsequent chemical synthesis and in vitro profiling resulted in new TAS2R14 agonists with improved potency compared to the lead. The integrated approach provides a validated and refined structural model of ligand-TAS2R14 interactions and a general framework for structure-based discovery in the absence of closely related experimental structures.
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9.
Relationship between sensory liking for fat, sweet or salt and cardiometabolic diseases: mediating effects of diet and weight status.
Lampuré, A, Adriouch, S, Castetbon, K, Deglaire, A, Schlich, P, Péneau, S, Fezeu, L, Hercberg, S, Méjean, C
European journal of nutrition. 2020;(1):249-261
Abstract
PURPOSE Previous works have been suggested that individual sensory liking is a predictor of dietary intake and weight status, and may consequently influence development of cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs). We investigated the association between sensory liking for fat-and-salt, fat-and-sweet, sweet or salt and the onset of hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) over 6 years in adults, and the mediating effects of dietary intake and body mass index (BMI). METHODS We examined the CMDs risk among 41,332 (for CVD and diabetes) and 37,936 (for hypertension) French adults (NutriNet-Santé cohort). Liking scores, individual characteristics, diet and anthropometry were assessed at baseline using questionnaires. Health events were collected during 6 years. Associations between sensory liking and CMDs risk, and the mediating effect of diet and BMI, were assessed using Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS Sensory liking for fat-and-salt was associated with an increased risk of diabetes, hypertension and CVD [hazard ratios (HR) for 1-point increment of the sensory score: HR 1.30 (95% CI 1.18, 1.43), HR 1.08 (1.04, 1.13) and HR 1.10 (1.02, 1.19), respectively]. BMI and dietary intake both explained 93%, 98% and 70%, of the overall variation of liking for fat-and-salt liking in diabetes, hypertension and CVD, respectively. Liking for fat-and-sweet and liking for salt were also associated with an increased risk of diabetes [HR 1.09 (1.01, 1.17) and HR 1.09 (1.01, 1.18), respectively], whereas liking for sweet was associated with a decreased risk [HR 0.76 (0.69, 0.84)]. CONCLUSIONS Higher liking for fat-and-salt is significantly associated with CMDs risk, largely explained by dietary intake and BMI. Our findings may help to guide effective targeted measures in prevention.
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10.
Effect of Physical Exercise on Taste Perceptions: A Systematic Review.
Gauthier, AC, Guimarães, RF, Namiranian, K, Drapeau, V, Mathieu, ME
Nutrients. 2020;(9)
Abstract
The effect of physical exercise on nutrition has gained substantial interest in the last decade. Meaningful results have been produced concerning the effect of physical exercise on different appetite hormones and food choice/preference. While it is well known that taste and nutrition are related, the relation between taste and physical activity has not yet been fully explored. This systematic review aims to provide a detailed view of the literature on physical exercise and its effect on taste perceptions. Five tastes were included in this review: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami. Sweet taste intensity, sensitivity, and preference were increased by acute physical exercise, but sweet preference was reduced by chronic physical activity. Perceived intensity and sensitivity decreased overall for salty taste, but an increased preference was noted during/following exercise. Sour taste intensity ratings were decreased following exercise and preference was enhanced. Umami taste intensity and sensitivity increased following exercise and preference was decreased. No significant results were obtained for bitter taste. While evidence regarding the effect of exercise on taste has arisen from this review, the pre-testing nutrition, testing conditions, type of test, and exercise modality must be standardized in order to produce meaningful and reproducible results in the future.