Tag: Sweet receptors

The human tongue has specific receptors that detect the five basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. However, while simple sugars like glucose or fructose are notoriously sweet, the much larger, polymeric carbohydrates known as polysaccharides consistently fail to register a sweet taste in laboratory tests.

Genetic factors account for about 30% of the variation in sweet taste perception among people, influencing how we experience different sugars. While this natural preference is rooted in evolutionary biology, the question of whether humans can taste glucose reveals a far more intricate sensory process involving not one, but two distinct signaling pathways.