Contribution of gustation to the palatability of linoleic acid

• Published in: Physiology & behavior Vol. 96; no. 1; pp. 142 - 148
• Main Authors: Saitou, Katsuyoshi, Yoneda, Takeshi, Mizushige, Takafumi, Asano, Hiroki, Okamura, Maya, Matsumura, Shigenobu, Eguchi, Ai, Manabe, Yasuko, Tsuzuki, Satoshi, Inoue, Kazuo, Fushiki, Tohru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 08.01.2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: Analysis of Variance; Animals; Anosmic mice; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Choice Behavior - drug effects; Choice Behavior - physiology; Corn Oil - administration & dosage; Discrimination (Psychology) - drug effects; Discrimination (Psychology) - physiology; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drinking Behavior - drug effects; Drinking Behavior - physiology; Eating - drug effects; Eating - physiology; Fat; Food Deprivation - physiology; Food Preferences - drug effects; Food Preferences - physiology; Free fatty acid; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Licking; Linoleic Acid - administration & dosage; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Olfactory Pathways - injuries; Olfactory Pathways - physiopathology; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Fat; Anosmic mice; Free fatty acid; Licking; Rodentia; Polyunsaturated fatty acid; Lipids; Linoleic acid; Vertebrata; n-6 fatty acid; Mammalia; Mouse; Animal; Gustation; Unsaturated fatty acid
• ISSN: 0031-9384; 1873-507X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2008.09.014

Abstract We investigated the palatability of a low concentration of linoleic acid (LA) in short-term two-bottle choice tests and licking tests. To examine the contribution of gustation, mice were rendered anosmic with olfactory nerve transection surgery and test solutions were prepared using mineral oil (saturated long-chain hydrocarbon) to minimize textural effects. In the two-bottle choice tests between various pairs of different concentrations of corn oil and LA, both anosmic and the sham-operated mice constantly preferred a higher concentration of corn oil and LA. In the licking tests, the initial licking rate for 1% LA was higher than that for mineral oil in anosmic mice. In accordance with the results of the two-bottle choice test, the initial licking rate for corn oil and LA increased in a concentration-dependent manner in both anosmic and sham-operated mice in the licking test, and reached its peak at 100% corn oil and 1% LA. A preference comparison between 1% LA and 100% corn oil showed that anosmic mice preferred 1% LA over 100% corn oil. These results suggest that mice could recognize dietary fat and fatty acid solutions in the oral cavity without any olfactory or textural cues and the fatty acid recognition on their tongues might provide a pivotal cue to how dietary fat is recognized in the oral cavity.