The sense of taste provides us with information about the quality of the food we eat. Through the tasting mechanism, we perceive sweet, salt, sour, bitter and umami (meaty or savory) stimuli.

The possibility for an additional taste modality for fat (lipid) often has been suggested, because many animals exhibit a spontaneous attraction to fatty foods. However, the existence of an actual fat sensor has been a matter of debate.

Fat Sensor Found

Phillipe Besnard and colleagues combined genetic, morphological, behavioral and physiological approaches to pinpoint the multifunctional glycoprotein CD36 -- also termed fatty acid transporter, or FAT -- as the sensor for fat.

Lingual stimulation of CD36 by fatty acids influences behavioral and digestive physiology, they found.

CD36 gene inactivation fully abolishes both the spontaneous preference for fat and the changes in gastrointenstinal secretions mediated by oral delivery of lipids. These findings unveil one potential pathway mediating fat taste, the researchers note.

Better Strategies Against Fat Addiction?

An alteration in the fat perception system might increase obesity risk through impairment of the physiological feeding mechanism, the research suggests.

These findings provide insight into the basis of our preference for fat and may help us devise better strategies to address the addictive potential of dietary fat, says Nada Abumrad in an accompanying commentary.