Astringent
Chemical compound that tends to shrink or constrict body tissues / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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An astringent (sometimes called adstringent) is a chemical that shrinks or constricts body tissues. The word derives from the Latin adstringere, which means "to bind fast". Astringency, the dry, puckering or numbing mouthfeel caused by the tannins[1][2] in unripe fruits, lets the fruit mature by deterring eating. Tannins, being a kind of polyphenol, bind salivary proteins and make them precipitate and aggregate,[3][4][5] producing a rough, "sandpapery", or dry sensation in the mouth.
Squirrels, wild boars, and insects can eat astringent food as their mouths are developed to be resistant to its effects.[6]
In Ayurveda, astringent is the sixth taste (after sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter) represented by "air and earth".[7][8]
Smoking tobacco is also reported to have an astringent effect.[9]
In a scientific study, astringency was still detectable by subjects who had local anesthesia applied to their taste nerves, but not when both these and the trigeminal nerves were disabled.[10]