A comparison of taste thresholds for sweet and astringent-tasting compounds in great apes.
Taste responses to fructose and tannic acid were compared between great apes using the 'two-bottle test' with tests of brief duration. The taste thresholds for fructose were [10-20] mM in Pongo pygmaeus, [40-50] mM in Pan troglodytes, and [70-80] mM in Gorilla gorilla. Inhibition thresholds for tannic acid were [2.9-3.5] mM in Pongo and [2.9-5.9] mM in Pan. Gorillas apparently significantly preferred tannins at low concentrations ([0.59-5.9] mM) but rejected concentrations above [8.8-14.7] mM. These results are discussed in relation to the effects of phylogenetic inertia and biological adaptation.
Simmen
Bruno
B
Laboratoire d'écologie générale, MNHN/CNRS FRE 2323, 4, av. du Petit-Château, 91800, Brunoy, France. simmen@ccr.jussieu.fr
Charlot
Stéphanie
S
D000818:Animals; D005632:Fructose; D006071:Gorilla gorilla / Q000502:physiology; D015186:Hominidae / Q000502:physiology*; D047348:Hydrolyzable Tannins; D002679:Pan troglodytes / Q000502:physiology; D011148:Pongo pygmaeus / Q000502:physiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D013652:Taste Threshold
D047348:Hydrolyzable Tannins; D005632:Fructose