title: Important role of umami taste sensitivity in oral and overall health.
abstract: Our newly developed umami taste sensitivity test revealed the loss of only the umami taste sensation in some elderly patients, whereas the other four basic taste sensations (sweet, salty, sour, bitter) were normal. Such patients all complained of appetite loss and weight loss, resulting in poor overall health. As a treatment for taste disorder patients, improvement of salivary flow has been adopted in our clinic. Umami taste stimulation increases salivary flow rate of not only major but also minor salivary glands. After treatment with umami taste stimulation, patients remarkably regained their appetite, weight and overall health. Sensitivity to umami taste seems to contribute to good overall health in elderly people.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sasano
authors.forename: Sizuko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Satoh-Kuriwada
authors.forename: Noriaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shoji
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iikubo
authors.forename: Misako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawai
authors.forename: Hisayuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uneyama
authors.affiliation: Division of Oral Diagnosis, Department of Oral Medicine and Surgery, Tohoku University Graduate School of Dentistry, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan. shoji_noriaki@dent.tohoku.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Maya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D012463:Saliva / Q000502:physiology*; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology*; D013651:Taste Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055697:Taste Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013652:Taste Threshold / Q000502:physiology