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Biomedical subjects

D Glaser

Publications and source records attributed to D Glaser.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Effects of gymnemic acid on the chorda tympani proper nerve responses to sweet, sour, salty and bitter taste stimuli in the chimpanzee.

In man gymnemic acid is able to abolish the sweet taste. Also in man, the neural correlate of that effect is a disappearance of the response to sweet stimuli in the taste nerves, as indicated by the observations of Diamant et al. (1965). Although a variety of other mammals also show neural responses to sweet-tasting compounds, the corresponding effect of gymnemic acid has not been demonstrated. This study presents chorda tympani proper nerve recordings from the chimpanzee before and after gymnemic acid. On the chimpanzee tongue, application of 2 ml gymnemic acid (3-10 mg X ml-1 for 3-4 min) completely abolished the taste responses to 0.0035 M acesulfam-K, 0.0018 M aspartame, 0.015 M D-tryptophan, 0.02% monellin, and 0.02% thaumatin, reduced by 75% the response to 0.3 M sucrose, and by 50% that of 0.76 M xylitol. No decrease was recorded in the responses to 0.001 M quinine, 0.1 M NaCl, 0.02 and 0.04 M ascorbic acid, 0.02 and 0.04 M citric acid. The response to the sweeteners recovered with time and the recovery was complete or nearly complete after one and a half hours. It was also found that after application of 2 ml miraculin, 3 mg X ml-1 for 3 min to the tongue the neural response to acids was about 1.5 times as large as before. Gymnemic acid applied before miraculin prevented this enhancement and gymnemic acid after miraculin depressed the enhancement by miraculin of the response to citric and ascorbic acid.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Gustatory threshold values of xylitol in primates.

The gustatory threshold values of xylitol solutions were determined in some nonhuman primates and compared with those of humans. Furthermore, the threshold values of xylitol and sucrose were compared.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

The sweetness-inducing effect of miraculin; behavioural and neurophysiological experiments in the rhesus monkey Macaca mulatta.

1. The gustatory effects of miraculin, the sweetness-inducing protein from the miracle fruit Synsepalum dulcificum, was studied in the rhesus monkey, Macaca mulatta.2. The intake of five acids was recorded in two-bottle preference tests, one bottle containing acid and the other tap water, before and after miraculin treatment. All the acids tasted more pleasant after miraculin.3. The electrical activity of the chorda tympani nerve to stimulation of the tongue with a variety of sweeteners, acids, sodium chloride and quinine hydrochloride was recorded in anaesthetized animals.4. Pre-treatment of the tongue with 0.3-5 mg miraculin doubled the summated nerve response to the acids and diminished the response to sucrose by about 10%. The enhancement lasted for at least an hour and the diminution up to 20 min.5. After miraculin treatment the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient between the order of increased intake of acids and the order of enhancement of the summated nerve response was 0.99.6. A solution of 0.1 mg miraculin per ml. elicited a weak nerve response. No preference over water for this concentration of miraculin was recorded in the two-bottle tests.7. The activity of twenty-nine single taste fibres, selected for their responsiveness to sweetness or acids or both, was recorded after miraculin treatment. Effects were obtained in nine fibres which were similar but more pronounced than those observed in the summated recordings. Before miraculin, these fibres responded better and to a larger variety of sweeteners (81%) than the other fibres (40%). After miraculin, acids elicited on the average 2.3 times more activity than before, while the response to sweeteners was depressed. In twenty fibres no effect of miraculin was observed. These fibres responded to fewer of the sweeteners and were more stimulated by the non-sweet stimuli than the first group.8. The results suggest that miraculin acts on those structures in the taste cell membrane that are involved in perception of the sweet taste, making them sensitive to acids. The new quality of sweetness after miraculin treatment is signalled by taste fibres which normally respond to sweet substances but which, under the influence of miraculin, are responding to acids. It is likely that the quality of a taste stimulus is conveyed by the identity of the taste fibres.

Acids↗
PubMed1978

The taste responses in primates to the proteins thaumatin and monellin and their phylogenetic implications.

Electrophysiological and behavioural methods have been applied to 34 species of the primates and, for comparison, to the Madagascan hedgehog to determine their responses to the proteins thaumatin and monellin. These substances elicit an intensely sweet taste sensation in man. All Catarrhina prefer monellin to water. The responses of the Prosimii as well as those of the South American primates to monellin are different, some species show a reaction, other species are not sensitive. In the case of thaumatin neither the Prosimii--including Tupaia and Tarsius--nor the South American primates show any response to this protein. Only the Cercopithecidae, the Hylobatidae and the Pongidae respond to this protein like man and prefer this substance to water. This physiological aspect of taste constitutes a clear dichotomy within the order Primates. This capability to taste thaumatin probably developed as long as 38 million years ago.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

[Behavioural and electrophysiological experiments on the sense of taste in Saguinus midas tamarin (Callitrichidae) (author's transl)].

The activity in the gustatory nerve from the anterior part of the tongue, the chorda tympani proper nerve, has been recorded during stimulation of the tongue of a New World monkey, Saguinus midas tamarin. A series of 0.3 M sugars and 0.07 M NaCl, 0.07 M sucrose, 0.004 M acetic acid and 0.00005 M quinine hydrochloride were used as taste stimuli. The concentrations of the last four stimuli were the same as those earlier found to be the lowest concentrations at which this monkey in behavioural experiments discriminates between them and water. The records showed that these threshold concentrations all elicited a neural response. Further, the neural activities during stimulation with the series of 0.3 M sugars were recorded. Using the amplitudes of the responses as a measure, the order between them was found to be fructose greater than glucose greater than lactose greater than arabinose greater than sucrose = galactose greater than raffinose. This order was discussed and related with the order found in behavioural experiments. With both methods, fructose seemed to be the strongest stimulus, but then the order among the sugars differed.

Acetates↗
PubMed1976

Gustatory effects of miraculin, monellin and thaumatin in the Saguinus midas tamarin monkey studied with electrophysiological and behavioural techniques.

A comparative electrophysiological and behavioural study has been made in 17 closely related monkeys of the new world species, Saguinus midas tamarin. The electrical activity in the chorda tympani proper nerve of two of the monkeys was recorded during the application to the tongues of 0.02% monellin and thaumatin, 0.5% miraculin and stimuli representing the four taste qualities. It was observed that monellin and thaumatin gave no or little response and that miraculin enhanced the response to the sour stimulus, but not that to any other taste quality. Behavioural studies were then made with a two-bottle preference test in 15 monkeys. It was found that the animals did not discriminate or discriminated poorly between water and thaumatin or monellin. After miraculin they changed their strong rejection of 0.02 M citric acid, in a choice between water and acid, into a strong preference for the acid. These results show a close relation between the electrophysiological and the behavioural data.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1975

Studies on the mechanism of the ovulation-inhibiting effect of 19-norsteroids in cyclic rats.

Experiments performed in cyclic female rats demonstrated an equal ovulation-inhibiting activity of the 19-norgestagens norethynodrel, lynestrenol and norethisterone acetate after injection in oestrus and metoestrus, and after daily administration from oestrus to pro-oestrus. The results furthermore show that, after application of the minimal ovulation-inhibiting doses during oestrus and metoestrus, these substances 1. induce an increase in prolactin secretion, 2., with the exception of norethisterone acetate, possess a hypophysial site of action, 3. are able to induce deciduoma formation following traumatization of the uterus, and 4. maintain the reactivity of the cyclic corpora lutea to the injection of prolactin. The findings suggest that the prolactin-releasing and luteotrophic action of the progestagens studied may form an essential part of the mechanisms that are responsible for the inhibition of ovulation observed in rats after administration over one cycle.

Animals↗