Why adding salt makes fruit - and candy - sweeter

 Posted by Ayaz Yelemessov

A recent article in Science magazine talks about how ironically if you treat eating something salty before eating something sweet the sweetness will be enhanced.  Originally the ability to taste sweetness was attributed to a family of receptors called T1R which recognize the glucose and artificial sweeteners. However, this hypothesis was disproved in 2003 when mice whose T1R were genetically disabled were still able to sense sweetness. Attempting to explain such a phenomenon, physiologists of Tokyo Dental Junior College looked at the enzyme called sodium- glucose cotransporter 1 (SGCT1).  Tongues of T1R disabled mice were rubbed with a solution of salt and glucose or just glucose, then responses were recorded. Results showed that mice whose tongues were rubbed with salt-glucose solution had a more rapid response.  Sadly, this experiment worked only with glucose due to enzymes specificity. The hypothesis was proven when SGCT1 inhibiting compounds prevented response to glucose in mice. Article also explored that sweet sensing is tied to three ways, one for each receptor and third for combined receptors. First two pathways allow bodies to distinguish between artificial and natural sweeteners. The combined pathway was also responsive to fatty acids and umami which might suggest how animals sense calorie- rich foods.

This ties to concepts of galvanic chemistry and nerve electric impulses explored in Frankenstein.  In galvanic chemistry charged species move and through movement are able to generate small amounts of electricity. This allows for complex nervous systems to function by manipulating chemical gradients of sodium and potassium to create small electric impulses.  This concept was utilized in Frankenstein’s endeavors where Victor used large amounts of electricity to reanimate dead flesh. Similarly, sodium ion charges stimulate the nerve cells in mice enhancing the sensation of sweetness in mice that should not sense. This shows how electricity can create movement of muscles and thoughts in the brain by supplying extra electrons and creating ion movement.