Taste responses to monosodium glutamate after alcohol exposure.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of acute and chronic exposure to alcohol on taste responses to a prototypic umami substance, monosodium glutamate (MSG).


METHODS
The rated intensity and pleasantness of MSG taste (0.03-10.0%) was compared in chronic male alcoholics (n = 35) and control subjects (n = 25). In a separate experiment, the effects of acute exposure of the oral mucosa to ethanol rinse (0.5-4.0%) on MSG taste (0.3-3.0%) were studied in 10 social drinkers.


RESULTS
The alcoholic and control group did not differ in terms of the rated intensity and pleasantness of MSG taste. Electrogustometric thresholds were significantly (P < 0.01) higher, i.e. worse, in the alcohol-dependent subjects. The difference remained significant after controlling for between-group differences in cigarette smoking and coffee drinking. Rinsing with ethanol did not alter either intensity or pleasantness of MSG taste in social drinkers.


CONCLUSIONS
The present results suggest that: (i) neither acute nor chronic alcohol exposure modifies taste responses to MSG; (ii) alcohol dependence may be associated with deficit in threshold taste reactivity, as assessed by electrogustometry.
Wrobel
Elzbieta
E
Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Sobieskiego 9 St., PL-02957 Warsaw, Poland.
Skrok-Wolska
Dominika
D
Ziolkowski
Marcin
M
Korkosz
Agnieszka
A
Habrat
Boguslaw
B
Woronowicz
Bohdan
B
Kukwa
Andrzej
A
Kostowski
Wojciech
W
Bienkowski
Przemyslaw
P
Scinska
Anna
A
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000503:physiopathology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012970:Sodium Glutamate / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013649:Taste / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D013652:Taste Threshold / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D013695:Temperance
D000431:Ethanol; D012970:Sodium Glutamate