Cure of Asthma Possible With Bitter Taste - - Discovered by A Lung Specialist; Dr. Stephen B. Liggett

The sense of taste is not limited to the mouth, and researchers say this discovery may lead to better treatments for diseases such as asthma.



The bitter taste receptors are also found in smooth muscles of the lungs and airways. These muscles relax when they are exposed to bitter tastes, according to a study by researchers from the Medical College of Maryland in Baltimore, published in an edition of the Nature Medicine journal.

The discovery surprised the doctor Stephen B. Liggett, a lung specialist who identified an association between bitter taste with poisonous plants, leading humans to avoid ingesting bitter foods.

Liggett believed that the bitter taste receptors in the lungs produce a reaction of “rejection or numbness”, causing the hardness of the chest and consequent cough, so that the person leaves the “toxic” environment.

Instead, when scientists tested some non-toxic bitter components in the airways of rats and humans, the airways relaxed and open.

Liggett, who hopes to begin human trials within a year, explained that eating bitter does not help in the treatment of asthma. According to him, it is need to inhale enough doses of aerosol components.