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High-sucrose diet exposure is associated with selective and reversible alterations in the rat peripheral taste system
Increased sugar consumption was linked to modulations in taste perception and metabolic disease risk, however, the evidence regarding the impact on taste buds and the peripheral nervous system remains insufficient. In this study by Sung et al. (2022), the authors provided a population of male rats with 30% liquid sucrose for four weeks and evaluated them against a sample of control peers (water without sucrose) for changes in taste quality, cold sensation, touch sensation, and chorda tympani (CT) neurophysiological sugar-induced lingual stimulation responses. Analysis of taste buds and fungiform papillae of the tongue (immunohistochemistry, morphology) revealed that rats consuming elevated sucrose had a reduction in PLCβ2+ taste bud cells in their fungiform papillae compared to controls, however, they did not show any difference in taste bud size, number or innervation. Furthermore, the sucrose rats showed a significant reduction in CT responses. These findings did not occur with other sugars like maltose, fructose, or glucose, NaCl, umami, Na saccharin, cold or touch stimulation. Finally, when sucrose liquid was replaced with water, the rats showed complete recovery from the sugar consumption phenotype within a period of four weeks. The authors demonstrate through their findings the unique effects of enhanced sucrose consumption on taste bud cells and peripheral taste nerve responses, findings that can carry metabolic risk and nutritional importance. [NPID: High sugar diet, sensory plasticity, taste changes, diet]
Year: 2022
