Liu DT, et al. - In this investigation involving 46 healthy volunteers (mean age/range, 23/19-27 years), researchers sought to validate caffeine impregnated taste strips as an alternative to quinine taste strips fo regional bitter perception assessment. The impregnated taste strips of quinine and caffeine were pairwise presented at different parts of the tongue. Using labeled magnitude scales, perceived intensity and hedonic dislike were assessed. In addition, the gustatory function was measured using the taste strips test and an overall sense of taste was rated utilizing visual analog scales. No association was observed between self-assessment of gustatory function and taste strips scores. Findings suggested that caffeine appears to be a valid bitter compound used by taste strips for regional testing and can be used alternatively to quinine.