Sweet and Umami Taste

Synopsis Sweet and umami are the attractive tastes to detect nutritious compounds required for our health. TAS1Rs are major receptors for sweet and umami, but other receptors also contribute to these tastes. Information detected by these receptors is sent to the brain via taste cells and gustatory nerve fibers. At the peripheral level, some endocrine factors controlling food intake modulate taste sensitivity in concert with their central effects. This chapter will review the mechanisms for detection, modulation and transmission of sweet and umami tastes at the periphery.