The distinctiveness of ionic and nonionic bitter stimuli

The diverse chemical structures of stimuli that are bitter to humans suggest a need for multiple bitter receptors. Reactions of golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) to 1 mM quinine hydrochloride, 3 mM denatonium benzoate, 180 mM magnesium sulfate, 30-100 mM caffeine, and 1-1.5 mM sucrose octaacetate (SOA) were studied to address whether there are multiple sensations elicited by bitter stimuli. Methods included behavioral generalization of LiCl-induced conditioned taste aversions (CTAs), intake preference tests, and electrophysiological recordings from the chorda tympani (CT) nerve. The five compounds, all bitter to humans, were all innately aversive to hamsters. CTA for the ionic quinine.HCl, denatonium benzoate, and MgSO(4) mutually cross-generalized and these ionic compounds were effective CT stimuli. Yet, the hamsters were much less sensitive to denatonium than humans, requiring a 100,000 times higher concentration for detection. CTA for nonionic caffeine and SOA did not cross-generalize to quinine or the other two ionic stimuli and these nonionic compounds were not effective CT stimuli. SOA and caffeine may elicit aversive reflexes or systemic reactions rather than taste sensations in the animals. Thus, the three ionic and two nonionic compounds form separate aversive stimulus classes in hamsters, neither of which appears to be a close homologue of the human bitter taste.