World's Most Bitter Mushroom Discovered: Even Bitter Gourd Can't Compete

Trending News: Bitter taste is often considered the most unpleasant among our taste experiences. We have considered things like bitter gourd or neem as the most bitter, but recently scientists have discovered a natural substance, whose bitterness is more than all these. This substance is not a chemical but a special type of mushroom, which scientists have described the world's most bitter natural element.

Identification and characteristics of mushrooms

Researchers at the Lebnitz Institute for Food System Biology, Technical University of Munich, Germany, have discovered the mushrooms, whose scientific name is Amaropostia Stiptica.  This fungus grows on the twigs and stems of dead trees and is sticky when wax is smooth and touching in its texture. When scientists tested this mushroom, it was found that its taste was so intense and bitter that it challenges the limits of human taste capacity.

The secret of bitter taste

According to the researchers, the bitterness of this mushroom is many times more than the bitter gourd. Earlier it was considered poisonous, but later it became clear that it is just very bitter, not toxic. Scientists also said that not every bitter thing is poisonous and not every poisonous thing is bitter. A special receptor on the human tongue, TAS2R only makes us identify the bitter taste. So far, scientists have identified around 2500 molecules that create bitterness, but our tongue can recognize only 800 of them.

This discovery is not limited to just a strange taste, but it also provides a new direction in the field of food quality, safety and food science. This information can prove to be important for improving the taste of foods and identifying harmful elements.