Taste and chewing as stimuli for the secretion of amylase from the parotid gland of the rabbit.

Abstract

Reflex secretion of amylase was studied in response to feeding pellets and carrots. Section of the ipsilateral glossopharyngeal nerve but not of the lingual nerve reduced the secretion of amylase with carrots but not with pellets. The fluid secretion was unaffected by the nerve sections. Larger volumes were secreted with pellets than with carrots, indicating that the hardness of the food, via chewing, is the main stimulus for fluid secretion. Sweet, salty, sour and bitter taste stimuli did not produce any fluid secretion in concentrations normally used for gustatory stimulation in rabbits. In a background flow of parasympathetically secreted saliva sweet stimuli regularly caused a large increase in the amylase output, salty stimuli usually had a small effect and sour and bitter stimuli seemed to have only exceptionally a small effect. Citric acid in a high concentration caused fluid secretion, at the most at a rate of about 50% of maximum; this saliva had a high content of amylase. The results support the view that during feeding the sympathetic secretory nerves can be activated via both taste stimulation and chewing, while the parasympathetic activity is mainly influenced by chewing.