美国马萨诸塞大学医学院的微生物学和生理系统专家诸葛荣华副教授通过研究发现,吃点苦味食品能对气道细胞中的味觉感受器形成刺激,通过放松肌肉改善哮喘病人气息不畅的症状。一些食物(如泰式炒芥蓝和苦瓜)能让已经收缩的气道细胞产生膨胀,这一过程也被称为“支气管扩张”。研究者希望这项发现能为开发治疗哮喘的新药铺平道路。新开发出来的这类支气管扩张剂能够更迅速地缓解哮喘发作,而且比现有药物的副作用更少。 Associate Professor Zhuge Ronghua, a microbiology and physiology expert at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in the United States, found that eating bitter foods stimulates the taste receptors in airway cells and relieves the symptoms of sluggish asthma patients by relaxing the muscles. Some foods, such as Thai-fried kale and bitter melon, inflate systolic airway cells, a process known as bronchiectasis. The researchers hope this finding paves the way for the development of new drugs to treat asthma. The newly developed bronchodilators are able to more quickly relieve asthma attacks and have fewer side effects than existing drugs.