Document Type
Oral Presentation
Location
Oxford Conference Center, Oxford MS
Event Website
https://oxfordicsb.org/
Start Date
10-4-2025 10:30 AM
Description
The perception of taste and flavour (a combination of taste, smell and chemesthesis) also referred to as chemosensation, enables animals to find high-value foods and avoid toxins. Humans have learned to use unpalatable and toxic substances as medicines, yet the importance of chemosensation in this process is poorly understood. We generated tasting-panel data for botanical drugs and applied phylogenetic generalised linear mixed models to test whether intensity and complexity of chemosensory qualities as well as particular tastes and flavours can predict ancient Graeco-Roman drug use. We found chemosensation to be strongly predictive of therapeutic use: botanical drugs with high therapeutic versatility have simple yet intense tastes and flavours, and 21 of 22 chemosensory qualities predicted at least one therapeutic use. In addition to the common notion of bitter tasting medicines, we also found starchy, musky, sweet, and soapy drugs associated with versatility. In ancient Greece and Rome, illness was thought to arise from imbalance in bodily fluids or humours, yet our study suggests that uses of drugs were based on observed physiological effects that are often consistent with modern understanding of chemesthesis and taste receptor pharmacology (https://elifesciences.org/articles/90070).
Recommended Citation
Leonti, Marco, "How Taste Shaped the Use of Botanical Drugs" (2025). Oxford ICSB. 37.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/icsb/2025_ICSB/Schedule/37
Publication Date
April 2025
Accessibility Status
Searchable text
Included in
How Taste Shaped the Use of Botanical Drugs
Oxford Conference Center, Oxford MS
The perception of taste and flavour (a combination of taste, smell and chemesthesis) also referred to as chemosensation, enables animals to find high-value foods and avoid toxins. Humans have learned to use unpalatable and toxic substances as medicines, yet the importance of chemosensation in this process is poorly understood. We generated tasting-panel data for botanical drugs and applied phylogenetic generalised linear mixed models to test whether intensity and complexity of chemosensory qualities as well as particular tastes and flavours can predict ancient Graeco-Roman drug use. We found chemosensation to be strongly predictive of therapeutic use: botanical drugs with high therapeutic versatility have simple yet intense tastes and flavours, and 21 of 22 chemosensory qualities predicted at least one therapeutic use. In addition to the common notion of bitter tasting medicines, we also found starchy, musky, sweet, and soapy drugs associated with versatility. In ancient Greece and Rome, illness was thought to arise from imbalance in bodily fluids or humours, yet our study suggests that uses of drugs were based on observed physiological effects that are often consistent with modern understanding of chemesthesis and taste receptor pharmacology (https://elifesciences.org/articles/90070).
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/icsb/2025_ICSB/Schedule/37
Comments
This research was supported by the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research and technological development and demonstration activities.