Scientists discover new mechanisms for relaxing airways using
bitter tasting substances That kale and bitter melon you are
eating may someday save your life. An interdisciplinary team of
scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School
have taken a step forward in understanding how the substances
that give some foods their bitter flavor also act to reverse the
contraction of airway cells, a process known as bronchodilation.
This effect may one day be harnessed to provide improved
treatments for airway obstructive diseases such as asthma and
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The findings were
published on March 5 in the open access journal PLOS Biology. "I
am excited that someday, with more research, there may be a new
class of bronchodilators which are able to reverse an asthma
attack quicker and with fewer side effects than is currently
available to patients," said Ronghua ZhuGe, PhD, associate
professor of microbiology and physiological systems and senior
author of the study. The sense of t