Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (3)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Gent, J. F.
Right arrow Articles by Hettinger, T. P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Gent, J. F.
Right arrow Articles by Hettinger, T. P.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Chem. Senses 27: 73-80, 2002
© Oxford University Press 2002

Taste Confusions Following Chlorhexidine Treatment

Janneane F. Gent, Marion E. Frank and Thomas P. Hettinger

Division of Neurosciences, Department of Oral Diagnosis, School of Dental Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030, USA

Correspondence to be sent to: Marion E. Frank, Division of Neurosciences, Department of Oral Diagnosis, University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030-1718, USA. e-mail: mfrank{at}neuron.uchc.edu

Chlorhexidine, a bitter bis-biguanide antiseptic, is the only known blocker of the human salty taste. In order to characterize the effects of chlorhexidine on stimulus identification, taste confusion matrix (TCM) performance was measured for subjects treated with 1.34 mM chlorhexidine gluconate (n = 9) and water controls (n = 9). Ten stimuli [water, 0.1 M NaCl, 0.1 M KCl, 0.1 mM quinine-HCl (QHCl), 0.1 M monosodium glutamate (MSG), 3 mM citric acid, 0.3 M sucrose and mixtures of NaCl, QHCl and citric acid with sucrose] were presented in 10 replicates for identification from a list of 10 stimulus names. T10, a measure of performance consistency from information theory, was lower for chlorhexidine-treated subjects (2.02 ± 0.11 bits) than controls (2.73 ± 0.11 bits) (P < 0.0001). T2, an indirect measure of pairwise stimulus discrimination, approached chance levels (0.40 bit) in chlorhexidine-treated subjects for all possible pairs of NaCl, KCl, QHCl and water, as well as pairs composed of sucrose and the NaCl—sucrose and quinine—sucrose mixtures. In controls T2 values approached perfect scores (1.00 bit) for all stimulus pairs except NaCl—KCl and NaCl—MSG. The results demonstrate a decreased ability to identify taste stimuli that is consistent with alterations in the ability of stimuli to elicit salty and bitter taste perceptions. As a selective, effective, persistent and reversible blocker of taste perceptions, chlorhexidine should prove useful in defining taste mechanisms in humans.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Chem SensesHome page
R. Grover and M. E. Frank
Regional Specificity of Chlorhexidine Effects on Taste Perception
Chem Senses, April 1, 2008; 33(4): 311 - 318.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.