Disclaimer: I’m not an expert. I invite you to correct me if you know better. Sources are at the end.
If you see taste receptors as chemosensors, then yes. We have those all over the place. In the lungs, brain, kidneys, the gastrointestinal system etc… Even in sperm. Although a lot of those are not well studied yet, it has been found that - depending on the cells and region - they can serve specific purposes, like metabolic regulation, or airway relaxation. Basically a way for you body to react to chemical signals. However, afaik they do not contribute to the taste sensation when you’re eating. So you don’t need to go all Cartman style.
But(t), a lot of those findings have limited validity, e.g. because of investigations using cell cultures instead of in vivo studies, or because several animals have a different (or even completely lacking) set of those receptors than humans.
Sources, which I skimmed for this:
- en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taste_receptor (Tissue distribution section)
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3321208/
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6413048/
- www.spektrum.de/news/…/1351478 (German)
SuperIce@lemmy.world 1 year ago
That’s a hell of a way to start an article.