Obese Subjects With Specific Gustatory Papillae Microbiota and Salivary Cues Display an Impairment to Sense Lipids

Some obese subjects overeat lipid-rich foods. The origin of this eating behavior is unknown. We have here tested the hypothesis that these subjects could be characterized by an impaired fatty taste sensitivity linked to a change in the gustatory papillae microbial and salivary environment. The composition of microbiota and saliva surrounding the circumvallate papillae was analyzed in combination with the orosensory lipid detection threshold in normal weight (NW) and obese (O) adults. Microbial architecture was similar to what was known in feces, but with an increased frequency of Proteobacteria. No difference in the orosensory sensitivity to lipids and composition of oral microbiota and saliva was observed between NW and O subjects. By contrast, specific bacterial and salivary signatures were found in lipid non-tasters, irrespectively of BMI. A multivariate approach highlighted that the salivary flow, lysozyme activity, total antioxidant capacity and TM7 bacterial family discriminated between tasters and non-tasters. Subgroup analysis of obese tasters (OT) versus obese non-tasters (ONT) identified specific bacterial metabolic pathways (i.e. phosphotransferase and simple sugar transport systems) as being higher in ONT. Altogether with the identification of a set of significant salivary variables, our study suggests that an “obese tongue” phenotype is associated with decreased orosensory sensitivity to lipids in some obese subjects.