The tongue and its curiosities | Press

Understand its importance for taste sensitivity and its functions in the digestive process.

The mouth consists of teeth, tongue, gums, palate, cheeks, and lips. All these parts are important and assist in the digestive process, but the tongue plays a special role. Hellen Maluly, Ph.D. in Food Science, explains that this organ is essential for us to perceive the flavor of food, as it is the most sensitive to the basic tastes, in addition to helping digest food through the movement of its muscle fibers.

Some curiosities have surrounded this organ for a long time, as we can see below:

1. Sense of taste
The tongue is considered the main organ responsible for the sense of taste; however, we have approximately five thousand taste buds, which can also be found on the palate and the epiglottis. Our tongue has receptors for the five basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami – the fifth basic taste of the human palate, scientifically recognized in the year 2000. This taste can be perceived through some foods, such as tomato and parmesan cheese, and its main characteristics are the lingering taste for a few minutes after eating and the increase in salivation.

2. Tongue map
During elementary school, when we studied the digestive system, we learned that our tongue has a map that defines the regions responsible for sensing each taste. But in fact, the entire surface of the tongue can identify all five tastes, regardless of location. This is because the organ has receptors throughout its entire extension, present in the taste buds.

The myth exists because, in the early 20th century, a German researcher named David Hänig published an article with information about taste sensitivity in different parts of the tongue. The article may have been misinterpreted, and the so-called tongue map was mistakenly created.

3. Tactile function
Humans have four types of taste buds with different functions. In addition to allowing the perception of food flavors, they also detect tactile sensations – in other words, they allow us to perceive when food is hot or cold, for example.

4. With age, we stop perceiving the five basic tastes
As the years go by, many cells in our body tend to reduce their activity, including sensory cells. This fact is directly related to malnutrition and aging, which can harm the body. In addition, psychological difficulties, reduced sense of smell, and pathological factors such as indigestion, diarrhea, and constipation can interfere with taste perception.

5. Saliva contributes to oral health
Saliva is extremely important for oral health, as it has an immunological function that helps prevent the growth of certain pathogenic microorganisms, as well as lubricating food, which helps with chewing.