Salivary Protein Profiles and Sensitivity to the Bitter Taste of Caffeine

• Published in: Chemical senses Vol. 37; no. 1; pp. 87 - 95
• Main Authors: Dsamou, Micheline, Palicki, Olivier, Septier, Chantal, Chabanet, Claire, Lucchi, Géraldine, Ducoroy, Patrick, Chagnon, Marie-Christine, Morzel, Martine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Oxford University Press 01.01.2012; Oxford University Press (OUP)
• Subjects: Adult; analysis; Biological and medical sciences; bitterness; caffeine; Caffeine - pharmacology; chemistry; drug effects; electrophoresis; Food and Nutrition; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; genetic polymorphism; Humans; immunoglobulins; Life Sciences; Male; Medical sciences; metabolism; Middle Aged; mouth; Neuropharmacology; Olfaction. Taste; Perception; pharmacology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; physiology; proteinase inhibitors; proteolysis; proteome; Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer; Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer..., (alzheimer disease); Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Psychopharmacology; saliva; Saliva - chemistry; Salivary Proteins and Peptides; Salivary Proteins and Peptides - analysis; Salivary Proteins and Peptides - metabolism; serum albumin; taste; Taste - drug effects; Taste - physiology; taste receptors; Taste Threshold; Taste Threshold - drug effects; Taste Threshold - physiology; volunteers; saliva; two-dimensional electrophoresis; bitterness, cystatin; proteolysis; proteome; Cystatin; CNS stimulant; Psychotropic; Gustative system; Protein; Sensitivity; Proteolysis; Gustation; bitterness; Perception; Taste; Saliva; Caffeine; in-vivo; mucosal pellicle; whole saliva; periodontitis patients; electrophoresis; perception; alpha-amylase; two-dimensional; cystatins; cystatin; healthy-subjects; immunoglobulin-a; phenolic astringent stimuli
• DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjr070
• ISSN: 0379-864X; 1464-3553

The interindividual variation in the sensitivity to bitterness is attributed in part to genetic polymorphism at the taste receptor level, but other factors, such as saliva composition, might be involved. In order to investigate this, 2 groups of subjects (hyposensitive, hypersensitive) were selected from 29 healthy male volunteers based on their detection thresholds for caffeine, and their salivary proteome composition was compared. Abundance of 26 of the 255 spots detected on saliva electrophoretic patterns was significantly different between hypo- and hypersensitive subjects. Saliva of hypersensitive subjects contained higher levels of amylase fragments, immunoglobulins, and serum albumin and/or serum albumin fragments. It also contained lower levels of cystatin SN, an inhibitor of protease. The results suggest that proteolysis occurring within the oral cavity is an important perireceptor factor associated to the sensitivity to the bitter taste of caffeine.