title: Is fat taste ready for primetime?
abstract: Mounting evidence suggests that gustation is important for the orosensory detection of dietary fats, and might contribute to preferences that humans, rodents, and possibly other mammals exhibit for fat-rich foods. In contrast to sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami, fat is not widely recognized as a primary taste quality. Recent investigations, however, provide a wealth of information that is helping to elucidate the specific molecular, cellular, and neural mechanisms required for fat detection in mammals. The latest evidence supporting a fat taste will be explored in this review, with a particular focus on recent studies that suggest a surprising role for gut-brain endocannabinoid signaling in controlling intake and preference for fats based on their proposed taste properties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, United States. Electronic address: ndipatri@uci.edu.
authors.forename: Nicholas V
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: DiPatrizio
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D063388:Endocannabinoids / Q000378:metabolism; D005215:Fasting / Q000502:physiology*; D005223:Fats; D005518:Food Preferences; D006801:Humans; D012201:Reward; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D063388:Endocannabinoids; D005223:Fats
keywords: Endocannabinoid; Fat; Food reward; Periphery; Taste