Effect of age on taste perception: A survey

Abstract

Background: Taste, gustatory perception or gustation is one of the five traditional senses that belongs to the gustatory system. Taste is the sensation produced when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor cells located on taste buds in the oral cavity, mostly on the tongue. The different kinds of taste include sweetness, sourness, bitterness and so on. It has been noted that the intensities depreciate with age. Objective: To observe and analyse how the taste intensities differ with respect to age in the Indian Population. Materials and Methods: 20 candidates in the age group of 18-25, 26-40, 40-50, 50 years and above where given different substsnaces to taste and asked to score the substance based on the intensity of taste. Results and Conclusion: The perception of sweet taste was higher in the 18-25 age group. The perception of bitter sensation was more above 40 years. There is a change in the perception of taste with age although the results were not found to be statistically significant. (P = 0.0892).