The Taste–Nutrition Interface: How Gustatory Signaling Modulates Metabolic Responses
A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Metabolism".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 August 2026 | Viewed by 19
Special Issue Editors
Interests: taste perception; PROP tasting; individual differences; taste perception modulation; electrophysiological recordings; taste; body composition; nutrition; health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: taste perception and individual differences; PROP tasting; taste genetics; taste modulation; electrophysiological recordings from human tongue; taste and health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Whether taste sensitivity plays a regulatory role in the metabolism of ingested nutrients remains an open question. It is also unclear which specific mechanisms link gustatory perception to macronutrient selection and intake. Notably, foods are consumed as complex macromolecular structures, whereas the gustatory system is primarily tuned to detect simple molecules liberated through the action of digestive enzymes such as amylases and lipases. These breakdown products can engage diverse oral sensing pathways to transmit information about the quality, quantity, and energetic value of nutrients, thereby contributing to metabolic efficiency and homeostatic control. Furthermore, taste receptors are found in various extraoral tissues, such as the gastrointestinal tract, where they act as nutrient sensors and play a role in metabolic regulation.
This Special Issue aims to elucidate how gustatory signaling modulates metabolic responses across different physiological and behavioral levels. A deeper understanding of the spectrum of oral sensitivities in humans—and of how these sensitivities are shaped by genetic, developmental, and environmental factors—may reveal critical insights into the role of taste in appetite regulation, nutrient metabolism, and health outcomes. By integrating evidence from molecular biology, sensory science, nutrition, and metabolism, this collection seeks to advance a comprehensive view of the taste–nutrition interface and its implications for dietary behavior and metabolic health.
Prof. Dr. Iole Tomassini Barbarossa
Dr. Melania Melis
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- taste sensitivity
- taste receptors
- metabolisms
- sensory nutrition
- genetic variations in taste
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