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{{Short description|Basic taste}}
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{{Short description|Basic taste}}
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[[File:Adriaen Brouwer – The Bitter Potion – Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|”The Bitter Draught” by [[Adriaen Brouwer]].|354x354px]]
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[[File:Adriaen Brouwer – The Bitter Potion – Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|”The Bitter Draught” by [[Adriaen Brouwer]].|354x354px]]
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”’Bitterness”’, also known as ”’bitter”’, is one of the most sensitive of [[Taste|tastes]], and many experience it as unpleasant, sharp, or off-putting, but it is sometimes desirable and intentionally added via various [[Bittering agent|bittering agents]]. Common bitter foods and drinks include [[coffee]], unsweetened [[Theobroma cacao|cocoa]], South American [[Mate (drink)|mate]], [[coca tea]], [[Momordica charantia]], unripe [[olives]], [[citrus peel]], some varieties of [[cheese]], many plants in the [[Brassicaceae]] family, [[Taraxacum]] greens, [[Marrubium vulgare]], [[Chicory|wild chicory]], and [[escarole]]. The [[ethanol]] in [[alcoholic beverages]] tastes bitter,<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Scinska A, Koros E, Habrat B, Kukwa A, Kostowski W, Bienkowski P |title=Bitter and sweet components of ethanol taste in humans |journal=Drug and Alcohol Dependence |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=199–206 |date=August 2000 |pmid=10940547 |doi=10.1016/S0376-8716(99)00149-0}}</ref> as do the additional bittering ingredients found in some alcoholic beverages, including [[hops]] in [[beer]] and [[gentian]] in [[bitters]]. [[Quinine]] is also known for its bitter taste and is found in [[tonic water]].
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”’Bitterness”’, also known as ”’bitter”’, is one of the most sensitive of [[Taste|tastes]], and many experience it as unpleasant, sharp, or off-putting, but it is sometimes desirable and intentionally added via various [[Bittering agent|bittering agents]]. Common bitter foods and drinks include [[coffee]], unsweetened [[Theobroma cacao|cocoa]], South American [[Mate (drink)|mate]], [[coca tea]], [[Momordica charantia]], unripe [[olives]], [[citrus peel]], some varieties of [[cheese]], many plants in the [[Brassicaceae]] family, [[Taraxacum]] greens, [[Marrubium vulgare]], [[Chicory|wild chicory]], and [[escarole]]. The [[ethanol]] in [[alcoholic beverages]] tastes bitter,<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Scinska A, Koros E, Habrat B, Kukwa A, Kostowski W, Bienkowski P |title=Bitter and sweet components of ethanol taste in humans |journal=Drug and Alcohol Dependence |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=199–206 |date=August 2000 |pmid=10940547 |doi=10.1016/S0376-8716(99)00149-0}}</ref> as do the additional bittering ingredients found in some alcoholic beverages, including [[hops]] in [[beer]] and [[gentian]] in [[bitters]]. [[Quinine]] is also known for its bitter taste and is found in [[tonic water]].
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Bitterness is of interest to those studying [[evolution]], as well as to various health researchers<ref name=”textbookofmedicalphysiology8thed”>Guyton, Arthur C. (1991) ”Textbook of Medical Physiology”. (8th ed). Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders</ref><ref name=”psychologyofeating&drinking”>{{cite book|last=Logue|first=Alexandra W.|year=1986|title=The Psychology of Eating and Drinking|location=New York|publisher=W.H. Freeman & Co.|isbn=978-0-415-81708-0}}{{page needed|date=August 2014}}</ref> as a large number of naturally occurring bitter compounds are known to be toxic. The ability to detect bitter-tasting, toxic compounds at low thresholds is thought to serve an important protective function.<ref name=”textbookofmedicalphysiology8thed” /><ref name= psychologyofeating&drinking/><ref>{{cite journal |last=Glendinning|first=J. I. |title=Is the bitter rejection response always adaptive? |journal=Physiol Behav |volume=56 |year=1994 |pages=1217–1227|doi=10.1016/0031-9384(94)90369-7 |pmid=7878094 |issue=6 |s2cid=22945002 }}</ref> Plant leaves often contain toxic compounds, and among [[leaf-eating]] primates there is a tendency to prefer immature leaves, which tend to be higher in protein and lower in fiber and toxins than mature leaves.<ref name=”encylopediahumanevolution”>Jones, S., Martin, R., & Pilbeam, D. (1994) ”The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution”. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press{{page needed|date=August 2014}}</ref> Among humans, various [[food processing]] techniques are used worldwide to detoxify otherwise inedible foods and make them palatable.<ref>Johns, T. (1990). ”With Bitter Herbs They Shall Eat It: Chemical ecology and the origins of human diet and medicine”. Tucson: University of Arizona Press{{page needed|date=August 2014}}</ref> Furthermore, the use of fire, changes in diet, and avoidance of toxins have led to neutral evolution in human bitterness sensitivity. This has allowed for several loss-of-function mutations that have resulted in a reduced sensory capacity for bitterness in humans compared to other species.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wang | first1 = X. | year = 2004 | title = Relaxation Of Selective Constraint And Loss Of Function In The Evolution Of Human Bitter Taste Receptor Genes | journal = Human Molecular Genetics | volume = 13 | issue = 21| pages = 2671–2678 | doi=10.1093/hmg/ddh289 | pmid=15367488| doi-access = free }}</ref>
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Bitterness is of interest to those studying [[evolution]], as well as to various health researchers<ref name=”textbookofmedicalphysiology8thed”>Guyton, Arthur C. (1991) ”Textbook of Medical Physiology”. (8th ed). Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders</ref><ref name=”psychologyofeating&drinking”>{{cite book|last=Logue|first=Alexandra W.|year=1986|title=The Psychology of Eating and Drinking|location=New York|publisher=W.H. Freeman & Co.|isbn=978-0-415-81708-0}}{{page needed|date=August 2014}}</ref> as a large number of naturally occurring bitter compounds are known to be toxic. The ability to detect bitter-tasting, toxic compounds at low thresholds is thought to serve an important protective function.<ref name=”textbookofmedicalphysiology8thed” /><ref name= psychologyofeating&drinking/><ref>{{cite journal |last=Glendinning|first=J. I. |title=Is the bitter rejection response always adaptive? |journal=Physiol Behav |volume=56 |year=1994 |pages=1217–1227|doi=10.1016/0031-9384(94)90369-7 |pmid=7878094 |issue=6 |s2cid=22945002 }}</ref> Plant leaves often contain toxic compounds, and among [[leaf-eating]] primates there is a tendency to prefer immature leaves, which tend to be higher in protein and lower in fiber and toxins than mature leaves.<ref name=”encylopediahumanevolution”>Jones, S., Martin, R., & Pilbeam, D. (1994) ”The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution”. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press{{page needed|date=August 2014}}</ref> Among humans, various [[food processing]] techniques are used worldwide to detoxify otherwise inedible foods and make them palatable.<ref>Johns, T. (1990). ”With Bitter Herbs They Shall Eat It: Chemical ecology and the origins of human diet and medicine”. Tucson: University of Arizona Press{{page needed|date=August 2014}}</ref> Furthermore, the use of fire, changes in diet, and avoidance of toxins have led to neutral evolution in human bitterness sensitivity. This has allowed for several loss-of-function mutations that have resulted in a reduced sensory capacity for bitterness in humans compared to other species.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wang | first1 = X. | year = 2004 | title = Relaxation Of Selective Constraint And Loss Of Function In The Evolution Of Human Bitter Taste Receptor Genes | journal = Human Molecular Genetics | volume = 13 | issue = 21| pages = 2671–2678 | doi=10.1093/hmg/ddh289 | pmid=15367488| doi-access = free }}</ref>
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