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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Measuring Oral Fatty Acid Thresholds, Fat Perception, Fatty Food Liking, and Papillae Density in Humans
Published on: June 4, 2014
Taste preference for fatty acids is mediated by GPR40 and GPR120
Cristina Cartoni1, Keiko Yasumatsu, Tadahiro Ohkuri
1Nestlé Research Center, Lausanne 1000, Switzerland.
Abstract:
The oral perception of fat has traditionally been considered to rely mainly on texture and olfaction, but recent findings suggest that taste may also play a role in the detection of long chain fatty acids. The two G-protein coupled receptors GPR40 (Ffar1) and GPR120 are activated by medium and long chain fatty acids. Here we show that GPR120 and GPR40 are expressed in the taste buds, mainly in type II and type I cells, respectively. Compared with wild-type mice, male and female GPR120 knock-out and GPR40 knock-out mice show a diminished preference for linoleic acid and oleic acid, and diminished taste nerve responses to several fatty acids. These results show that GPR40 and GPR120 mediate the taste of fatty acids.
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