Many people, especially children and the elderly, have difficulty swallowing pills. Liquid forms of many medicines taste extremely bitter and are often rejected. Put simply, strong bitterness is the main reason why people all over the world, especially children, avoid taking their medicines, putting their health and sometimes their lives at risk.
Most everyone understands that a major role of our sense of taste is to inform us when sugar is present in foods and beverages by eliciting sweetness on our tongues. A study led by the Monell Chemical Senses Center, published this month in PLOS ONE, identifies a new human sensory ability to detect sugars in the mouth with a molecular calorie detector, of sorts.