Oral digestion parameters have gained attention for their potential role in postprandial blood glucose regulation, which may have implications for the management of diabetes. This Review summarizes current evidence on the influence of oral processing (chewing behavior and bolus characteristics), salivary amylase activity, and sweet taste perception on glucose homeostasis, with a focus on findings from human trials with healthy and diabetic individuals. Oral processing affects the bolus particle size, saliva incorporation, and duration of salivary amylase action, thereby influencing starch breakdown. Higher salivary amylase levels, often linked to a higher AMY1 gene copy number, may enhance starch hydrolysis into smaller molecules that interact with oral taste receptors. Activation of sweet taste receptors may trigger neural signaling and cephalic-phase hormone release, potentially modulating postprandial glycemic responses. However, inconsistent findings across studies indicate that further research is warranted to study oral digestion as a holistic approach instead of individual aspects to clarify the contribution to blood-glucose regulation.
Bisht et al. (Mon,) studied this question.