Depending on our gender, ethnicity and age, the number of taste buds we will host on our tongue might vary between 11 to 1.100 per cm2!
Each bud helps perceive bitter, sweet, salt, sour and umami (corresponds to the glutamate taste present in meat, cheese and mushrooms).
Source: PTC/PROP Tasting: Anatomy, Psychophysics, and Sex Effects. Bartoshuk, L. M., Duffy, V. B., Miller, I. J., 1994, Physiology and Behavior, Vol. 56, pp. pp. 1165-1171.
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