title: Taste responses to monosodium glutamate after alcohol exposure.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Sobieskiego 9 St., PL-02957 Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Elzbieta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wrobel
authors.forename: Dominika
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Skrok-Wolska
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ziolkowski
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Korkosz
authors.forename: Boguslaw
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Habrat
authors.forename: Bohdan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Woronowicz
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kukwa
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kostowski
authors.forename: Przemyslaw
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bienkowski
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scinska
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol; D012970:Sodium Glutamate