Tiny Bubbles
Just like Don Ho, I rather like champagne… there’s something about the “fizz” that makes it special, although for years I figured it was just the physical sensation of the bubbles.
Apparently not. Scientists have recently discovered a taste receptor for carbonation in mice, who are quite similar to humans in the way they perceive taste.
They found that the taste of carbonation is initiated by an enzyme tethered like a small flag from the surface of sour-sensing cells in taste buds. The enzyme, called carbonic anhydrase 4, interacts with the carbon dioxide in the soda, activating the sour cells in the taste bud and prompting it to send a sensory message to the brain, where carbonation is perceived as a familiar sensation.
…Ryba added that the taste of carbonation is quite deceptive. “When people drink soft drinks, they think that they are detecting the bubbles bursting on their tongue,” he said. “But if you drink a carbonated drink in a pressure chamber, which prevents the bubbles from bursting, it turns out the sensation is actually the same. What people taste when they detect the fizz and tingle on their tongue is a combination of the activation of the taste receptor and the somatosensory cells. That’s what gives carbonation its characteristic sensation.”
It’s not earth-shattering news, of course, but it’s kinda cool… at least to a science nerd like me. 😉
