Astringent

An astringent (sometimes called adstringent) is a chemical that shrinks or constricts <a href="/facts/Body_tissue/H7CpML7A">body tissues</a>. The word derives from the <a href="/facts/Latin/pM3Kge85">Latin</a> adstringere, which means "to bind fast". Astringency, the dry, puckering or numbing <a href="/facts/Mouthfeel/rBy2P0Sg">mouthfeel</a> caused by the <a href="/facts/Tannin/vKIvHoTX">tannins</a> in unripe fruits, lets the fruit mature by deterring eating. Tannins, being a kind of <a href="/facts/Polyphenol/H6Q7QIQH">polyphenol</a>, bind salivary <a href="/facts/Protein/Jxmagu3E">proteins</a> and make them precipitate and <a href="/facts/Protein_aggregation/94Ad1VqG">aggregate</a>, producing a rough, "sandpapery", or dry sensation in the mouth.
<a href="/facts/Smoking_tobacco/obI4MYne">Smoking tobacco</a> is also reported to have an astringent effect.
In a scientific study, astringency was still detectable by subjects who had <a href="/facts/Local_anesthesia/MuvfJReD">local anesthesia</a> applied to their taste nerves, but not when both these and the <a href="/facts/Trigeminal_nerve/YoF0qNoG">trigeminal nerves</a> were disabled.

Astringent open-in-new

Astringent