Taste Physiology in Healthy, Normal-weight Volunteers

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02255812

Enrollment

Registered

2014-10-03

Start date

2013-03-31

Completion date

2013-10-31

Last updated

2014-10-03

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Exploratory Behavior

Brief summary

Taste physiology describes five main taste qualities in humans: sweet, sour, salty, umami and bitter. The receptors found on the tongue are also found in the entire gut. The correlation of stimulation of these gut receptors and brain activity has not yet been examined. The objectives are to investigate the effect of different taste substances on i) regional brain activity and ii) satiation peptide release.

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTSingle intragastric instillation of 200 mL tap water via nasogastric tube

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTSingle intragastric instillation of 2 g citric acid in 200 mL tap water via nasogastric tube

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTSingle intragastric instillation of 2 g salt in 200 mL tap water via nasogastric tube

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTSingle intragastric instillation of 0.017 g quinine in 200 mL tap water via nasogastric tube

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTSingle intragastric instillation of 1 g monosodium glutamate in 200 mL tap water via nasogastric tube

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTSingle intragastric instillation of 25 g glucose in 200 mL tap water via nasogastric tube

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

CROSSOVER

Primary purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

MALE

Age

18 Years to 45 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* right-handed healthy males * Body-mass index of \< 25 * Age 18-45 years * no drugs * non-smoking

Exclusion criteria

* Smoking * Substance abuse * Regular intake of medications (except for oral contraceptives) * Medical or psychiatric illness, especially: diabetes, pace-maker, claustrophobia * History of gastrointestinal disorders * Food allergies, glutamate intolerance * Body piercings that cannot be removed

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
regional brain activity assessed by functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)	changes from baseline to one hour after treatment	Changes in resting state functional connectivity

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
gastrointestinal satiation peptide secretion	changes from baseline to one hour after treatment	Unit of Measure: glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) in pg/mL, peptide tyrosine tyrosine (PYY) in pg/mL and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) in pg/mL
glucose and insulin secretion	changes from baseline to one hour after treatment	Unit of Measure: glucose in mmol/L, insulin in μU/mL

Countries

Switzerland

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026