Stomach ‘tastes’ the food and adjusts its emptying: A neurophysiological hypothesis (Review)

Abstract

The presence of taste receptors and their secondary messengers in stomach raised the possibility that the stomach might play a role in food 'tasting' and consequently, it might initiate specific adaptations of its secretory and motor function. Furthermore, activated taste receptors release a variety of chemical mediators able to modulate the activity of the enteric nervous system (ENS), and also to influence both secretory and motor functions of the stomach. Based on the physiological fundamental structure of a reflex arch, the stimulation of the gastric taste receptors activates sensory neurons of the gastric wall, continues with motor neurons which initiate the contraction of the local smooth muscle fibers. Beyond this, compounds which act on different taste receptors initiate different responses, stimulatory or inhibitory. These interactions may be translated in the gastric ability to selectively evacuate different nutritive compounds into the duodenum. Consequently, sugars could be favored to the detriment of other compounds. Contents1. Introduction 2. Stomach possesses taste receptors 3. Taste receptor signaling mechanisms 4. By 'tasting' the food, stomach adjusts its emptyinginterrelation with gastric motor response

The Use of Blended Diets in Children With Enteral Feeding Tubes

“…Blended food has a higher viscosity compared to a standard enteral formula and may hence contribute to the reduction in GERD (27) . Taste receptors and endocrine cells located in the gastric mucosa may be activated by different food components of the blends and have a positive effect on secretory and motor functions of the stomach (29) . Lower GI symptoms commonly encountered on standard tube formulas include both diarrhea and constipation ( 27,30 ).…”

“…Furthermore, preparation and storage can also impact on the nutrient content of blends, for example, the levels of some vitamins of fruit and vegetable can vary if they are stored fresh compared to frozen (52) . The micronutrient content in blended foods is difficult to measure and could result in deficiencies ( 29,34 ). Mixing blended foods with a prescribed formula or a readily available blended feed or supplement with a stable nutrient content may help to overcome this problem (53) .…”

“…Some children were able to tolerate larger feed volumes when blended foods were introduced compared to commercially available standard formulas (23) . A proportion also showed more interest in eating orally and some report the ability to "taste" food (29) . It is not understood how the use of BD leads to an improvement of upper GI symptoms.…”

[Editorial] 2nd Special Issue: Tackling key immunological and immuno-dermatological pathways and their link to treatment options

“…In 'Stomach 'tastes' the food and adjusts its emptying: A neurophysiological hypothesis (Review)', Papacocea et al (10) demonstrated that the presence of taste receptors and their secondary messengers in the stomach raised the possibility that the stomach may play a role in food 'tasting' and consequently, it may initiate specific adaptations of its secretory and motor function. In addition, a variety of chemical mediators are able to modulate the activity of the enteric nervous system (ENS) and to influence both secretory and motor functions of the stomach.…”