Asian Scientist (Aug. 27, 2013) – An international team of researchers has discovered that the way the gut “tastes” sweet food may be defective in sufferers of type 2 diabetes, leading to problems with glucose uptake.
The discovery that there is abnormal control of so-called “sweet taste receptors” in the human intestine could have implications for a range of health and nutrition problems experienced by diabetes patients.
“When we talk about ‘sweet taste’, most people think of tasting sweet food on our tongue, but scientists have discovered that sweet taste receptors are present in a number of sites in the human body,” said Dr Richard Young, lead author of the study published in Diabetes.
“We’re now just beginning to understand the importance of the sweet taste receptors in the human intestine and what this means for sufferers of type 2 diabetes.”
In the study, the researchers compared healthy adults with type 2 diabetic adults and found that the control of sweet taste receptors in the intestine of the healthy adults enabled their bodies to effectively regulate glucose intake 30 minutes after exposure to glucose. However, abnormalities in the diabetic adults resulted in more rapid glucose uptake.
“When sweet taste receptors in the intestine detect glucose, they trigger a response that may regulate the way glucose is absorbed by the intestine. Our studies show that in diabetes patients, the glucose is absorbed more rapidly and in greater quantities than in healthy adults,” said Young.
According to the researchers, more work is needed to better understand these mechanisms in the gut.
“So far, we’ve seen what happens in people 30 minutes after glucose is delivered to the intestine, but we also need to study what happens over the entire period of digestion. There are also questions about whether or not the body responds differently to artificial sweeteners compared with natural glucose,” said Young.
The researchers hope that a better understanding of gut taste mechanisms will assist in better managing or treating diabetes.
The article can be found at: Young et al. (2013) Disordered Control Of Intestinal Sweet Taste Receptor Expression And Glucose Absorption In Type 2 Diabetes.
——
Source: University of Adelaide; Photo: Uwe Hermann/Flickr/CC.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.
