ABSTRACT
Saliva is a complex fluid secreted by glands that drain into the oral cavity. This fluid coats the whole surface of the oral mucosa, including the apical extensions of the taste receptor cells, providing the external milieu of the taste receptor. Thus, chemicals that eventually interact with the taste receptive membranes have to traverse this fluid layer; hence, the initial events in taste transduction that are sometimes referred to as perireceptor events involve saliva (Bradley, 1991; Matsuo 2000; Spielman, 1990).
