Biochemistry of Taste and Olfaction

Biochemistry of Taste and Olfaction examines the biochemical aspects of taste and olfaction and their relevance to nutrition, medicine, and food science. More specifically, it considers the biological processes that influence dietary habits, nutritional status, and enjoyment of food, as well as other important social and biological phenomena. It also describes biochemical mechanisms at the peripheral receptor level in taste and olfaction, with emphasis on the role of the cell surface, along with neurotransmitters and other neurochemical aspects of the olfactory system.
Organized into five sections comprised of 24 chapters, this book begins with an overview of biochemical approaches used in studying the phenomena of taste and olfaction. It then proceeds with a discussion of olfactory receptor mechanisms, the accessibility of odorant molecules to the receptors, the role of cilia in olfactory recognition, and the involvement of receptor proteins in vertebrate olfaction. Middle chapters focus on the chemosensation, major histocompatibility complex and olfactory receptors, taste receptor mechanisms, biochemistry of sugar reception in insects, intensity/time phenomena in sugar sweetness, and recognition of taste stimuli at the initial binding interaction. The reader is also introduced to the physicochemical principles of taste and olfaction, molecular mechanisms of transduction in chemoreception, biochemical mechanisms in vertebrate primary olfactory neurons, neurotransmitter biochemistry of the mammalian olfactory bulb, and chemical sensing by bacteria. Examples of chemical sensory systems are included.
This book will be of interest to biochemists, physiologists, neurobiologists, neuroscientists, molecular biologists, food scientists, students, and specialists in psychology, neurophysiology, organic chemistry, and nutrition.

Contenu

List of Contributors

Foreword

Preface

Some Reflections on Biochemical Approaches to the Phenomena of Taste and Olfaction

Text

Part I Olfactory Receptor Mechanisms

1 Biochemical Studies on the Boar Pheromones, 5a-Androst-16-en-3-one and 5a-Androst-16-en-3a-ol, and Their Metabolism by Olfactory Tissue

I. Introduction

II. Androst-16-enes

III. Distribution of Tissues in the Porcine Nasal Cavity

IV. Metabolism of [5a-3H]5a-Androstenone in Vitro by Porcine Nasal Epithelium and the Effect of 17ß-Hydroxy-5a-androstan-3-one

V. Subcellular Location and Co-factor Dependency of 3a- and 3ß-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases

VI. Time Course of the Reduction of [5a-3H]5a-Androstenone in Porcine Nasal Tissues

in Vitro

VII. Measurement of Apparent Km Values for 3-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases in Porcine Nasal Tissues

VIII. Possible Significance of 3-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases in Porcine Nasal Epithelium

References

2 Accessibility of Odorant Molecules to the Receptors

I. Introduction

II. Odorant Access

III. Mucosa/Air Partitioning of Odorants

IV. Odorant Removal

V. Limitation of the Radioisotope Procedures

VI. Further Considerations

VII. Conclusion

References

3 Role of Cilia in Olfactory Recognition

I. Introduction

II. Cilia in Sensory Organs

III. Morphology of Olfactory Cilia

IV. Experimental Basis for Role of Cilia in Olfaction

V. Odorant Interactions Studied Biochemically

VI. Isolation and Biochemical Characterization of Olfactory Cilia

VII. Isolation of Plasma Membranes from Cilia

VIII. Future Prospects

References

4 Receptor Proteins in Vertebrate Olfaction

I. Introduction

II. Olfactory Receptor Proteins

III. Research Needs

References

5 Chemosensation: An Aspect of the Uniqueness of the Individual

Text

References

6 The Major Histocompatibility Complex and Olfactory Receptors

I. Introduction

II. Self, Non-Self, and Olfaction

III. Monoclonal Antibody Production

IV. Experimental Study of Relationships between Olfactory Receptors and the MHC

V. Future Prospects

References

Part I Discussion

Part II Taste Receptor Mechanisms

7 Comparative Study of Sweet Taste Specificity

I. Introduction

II. Specificity of Sugar Taste Response

III. Nonsugar Sweeteners

IV. Receptor Site Models

V. Research Needs

References

8 Biochemical Aspects of Sugar Reception in Insects

I. Introduction

II. General Features of Taste Hairs

III. Specificity of the Sugar Receptor

IV. Transduction

V. The Pharmacological Approach

VI. Glucosidases as Possible Receptor Proteins of the Pyranose Site

References

9 A Molecular Approach to Intensity/Time Phenomena in Sugar Sweetness

I. Introduction

II. Measurements and Observations in Intensity/Time Relationships

III. Significance of Time in Models of Chemoreception and Transduction

IV. Intensity/Time and the Sweet Pharmacophore

V. Conclusions and Future Prospects

References

10 Recognition of Taste Stimuli at the Initial Binding Interaction

I. Introduction

II. Sweet Taste Receptors

III. Glutamate Taste Receptors

IV. Catfish Taste Receptors and the Role of the Plasma Membrane

V. Taste Receptor Site Antagonist

VI. Covalent Labeling and Isolation of a Taste-Receptor Macromolecule

VII. Research Needs

References

Part II Discussion

Part III Physicochemistry and Transduction

11 Physicochemical Principles in Taste and Olfaction

I. Introduction

II. Mass Transport in Chemoreception

III. A Generalized Response Function

IV. Surface Activity and Taste

V. Research Needs

References

12 Transduction through Receptor State Transitions

I. Introduction

II. Study of Biochemical Events in Taste Reception without Isolating Receptor Tissue

III. Dynamics of Receptor Activation by Sodium and Potassium Salts

IV. Research Needs

References

13 Molecular Mechanisms of Transduction in Chemoreception

I. Introduction

II. Comparison of Chemoreceptive Function in Various Organisms

III. Reaction Scheme for Initial Process of Chemoreception

IV. Structural Changes of Receptor Membranes

V. Membrane Potential Changes in Response to Chemical Stimuli

VI. Transduction Mechanisms

VII. Research Needs

References

14 Intracellular Calcium and Taste Cell Transduction

I. Introduction

II. Structural Aspects of Taste Cells

III. Plasma Membrane and Mitochondria as Calcium Regulators

IV. Models of Taste Receptor Transduction

V. Monitoring of Mitochondrial Activity

VI. Monitoring of NADH and Flavoprotein during Taste Stimulation

VII. Research Needs

References

15 Isolation, Separation, and Analysis of Cells from Olfactory Epithelium

I. Introduction

II. Olfactory Cell Separation

III. Pharmacological Studies of the Olfactory Epithelium

IV. Conclusions and Suggestions for Future Research

References

16 Biochemical Mechanisms in Vertebrate Primary Olfactory Neurons

I. Molecular Mechanisms in Olfaction

II. Transduction and Coding in Primary Neurons

III. Olfactory Mechanisms-Experimental Strategies

IV. Prospects for Future Studies

References

Part III Discussion

Part IV Neurotransmitters in Taste and Olfaction

17 Neurotransmitter Biochemistry of the Mammalian Olfactory Bulb

I. Introduction

II. Anatomical Organization

III. Transmitter Biochemistry

IV. Summary and Future

References

18 Neurochemical Studies of the -Aminobutyric Acid System in the Olfactory Bulb

I. Introduction

II. GABA in the Olfactory Bulb

III. Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase

IV. Dendrodendritic Synaptos…