This paper reports the main trends and perspectives related to the current understanding of the relationships between saliva and flavor perception. Saliva is a key factor in flavor perception and controls the transport of flavor molecules to their receptors, their adsorption onto the mouth surfaces (i.e., oral mucosa), their metabolism by enzymatic modification, and the friction force in the oral cavity. The proteins in free saliva or in the mucosal pellicle contribute to flavor perception by interacting with or metabolizing flavor compounds. Most of these reactions were observed when using fresh whole saliva; however, they were absent or less frequently observed when using artificial saliva or depleted/frozen whole saliva. There is a need to better understand the role of protein aggregates in flavor perception. Within humans, there is great interindividual variation in salivary composition, which has been related to differences in flavor perception. However, the relative role of salivary proteins and the microbiota should be deeply investigated together with the impact of their composition on individual perception during life. Finally, future results must also consider cross-modal interactions at the brain level.

中文翻译：

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唾液和风味感知：观点

本文报告了与当前对唾液和风味感知之间的关系的当前理解有关的主要趋势和观点。唾液是风味感知的关键因素，并控制风味分子向其受体的运输，它们在口腔表面（即口腔粘膜）的吸附，通过酶促修饰的新陈代谢以及在口腔中的摩擦力。游离唾液或粘膜防护膜中的蛋白质通过与风味化合物相互作用或代谢风味化合物，从而有助于风味感知。当使用新鲜的全唾液时，观察到大多数这些反应。但是，在使用人工唾液或耗尽/冷冻的整个唾液时，它们很少或很少见。需要更好地理解蛋白质聚集体在风味感知中的作用。在人类内部 唾液成分的个体差异很大，这与风味感知的差异有关。然而，应深入研究唾液蛋白和微生物群的相对作用，以及其组成对生活中个人知觉的影响。最后，未来的结果还必须考虑大脑水平上的交叉模式相互作用。