1 Answers
A taste receptor is a type of cellular receptor which facilitates the sensation of taste. When food or other substances enter the mouth, molecules interact with saliva and are bound to taste receptors in the oral cavity and other locations. Molecules which give a sensation of taste are considered "sapid".
Vertebrate taste receptors are divided into two families:
Visual, olfactive, "sapictive" , trigeminal , mechanical, all contribute to the perception of taste. Of these, transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 vanilloid receptors are responsible for the perception of heat from some molecules such as capsaicin, and a CMR1 receptor is responsible for the perception of cold from molecules such as menthol, eucalyptol, and icilin.