Decoding Garlic’s Pizzazz: Extract stimulates taste, temperature receptors
Despite garlic’s widespread role in cooking—and in vampire tales—scientists had long failed to explain the pungent plant’s burning taste. Now, a study of gustatory physiology suggests that raw garlic’s characteristic spiciness stems from its capacity to open channels on nerve cells that react to both tastes and noxious temperatures.
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Researchers have identified a family of neuron receptors, known as transient receptor potential (TRP) channels, that respond to diverse triggers including touch, pain, and pheromones. At least six of these receptors, a subset called thermoTRPs, react to both certain molecules and unpleasant temperatures by permitting a flood of calcium ions to enter nerve cells, which then fire.