Oleogustus And Vasue Analysis

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This essay discusses the validity of Oleogustus as a sixth official sense of taste, aside from the original five: salty, sweet, bitter, sour, umami. The discussion covers the definition and how it works, proving its validity as a sense of taste.

“ ‘Oleo’ is a Latin root word for oily or fatty and ‘gustus’ refers to taste.” (Purdue University, 2015) Thus, Oleogustus means the taste for oil or fat. “A basic taste has a unique chemical signature. And for us to taste it, we must have specific receptors in our bodies for the taste. If we can distinguish between the tastes, it can be considered a basic sense of taste.” (the guardian, 2015)

The Department of Food Science, Purdue University has conducted a study to test the validity of oleogustus as a basic sense of taste. “The study started out with 54 participants, and ended up with 28 who were considered better tasters.” (the guardian, 2015) “Participants were able to distinguish linoleic acid (a type of fatty acid) from other tastes in one such substance. The result of the study has shown that “fat taste” can provide evidence supporting the existence of another basic taste quality for selected fatty acids (fat taste).” (Mattes, et al., 2015, p. 514 – 515) …show more content…

A two-bottle preference test was used to determine that the taste of fat is evident. “However, there were limitations as humans vary in oral fat detection.” (Besnard, et al., 2016, p. 151 - 176) There are several variations that could affect the ability to taste fat, one being obesity. “Obesity is associated with functional defects of the peripheral taste systems, affecting the ability to sense certain tastes, especially fatty acids.” (Besnard, et al., 2016, p. 151 - 176) A little bit of fat adds flavour to foods. However, at a high concentration, it tastes

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