Taste shaped the use of botanical drugs
The perception of taste and flavour (a combination of taste, smell, and chemesthesis), here 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...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2024-01-01
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| Series: | eLife |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/90070 |
| _version_ | 1797347462713704448 |
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| author | Marco Leonti Joanna Baker Peter Staub Laura Casu Julie Hawkins |
| author_facet | Marco Leonti Joanna Baker Peter Staub Laura Casu Julie Hawkins |
| author_sort | Marco Leonti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The perception of taste and flavour (a combination of taste, smell, and chemesthesis), here 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. Here, we generate tasting-panel data for botanical drugs and apply 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:48:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-184ab6bf21f642c0af19d8d8bc12e9b9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:48:07Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-184ab6bf21f642c0af19d8d8bc12e9b92024-01-24T14:25:37ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2024-01-011210.7554/eLife.90070Taste shaped the use of botanical drugsMarco Leonti0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4726-9758Joanna Baker1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4904-6934Peter Staub2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4875-7064Laura Casu3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6480-8680Julie Hawkins4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9048-8016Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, Monserrato, ItalySchool of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United KingdomDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, Monserrato, ItalyDepartment of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, Monserrato, ItalySchool of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United KingdomThe perception of taste and flavour (a combination of taste, smell, and chemesthesis), here 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. Here, we generate tasting-panel data for botanical drugs and apply 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/90070herbal medicinechemosensory perceptionhistory of medicineethnopharmacologyethnobiologytaste of medicine |
| spellingShingle | Marco Leonti Joanna Baker Peter Staub Laura Casu Julie Hawkins Taste shaped the use of botanical drugs eLife herbal medicine chemosensory perception history of medicine ethnopharmacology ethnobiology taste of medicine |
| title | Taste shaped the use of botanical drugs |
| title_full | Taste shaped the use of botanical drugs |
| title_fullStr | Taste shaped the use of botanical drugs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Taste shaped the use of botanical drugs |
| title_short | Taste shaped the use of botanical drugs |
| title_sort | taste shaped the use of botanical drugs |
| topic | herbal medicine chemosensory perception history of medicine ethnopharmacology ethnobiology taste of medicine |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/90070 |
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