1,720,985 research outputs found
Genetics of Taste and Food Preferences in Communities Along the Silk Road
No full textFood preferences are the main factor driving food intake and choice and there are good reasons to suspect some genetic influence on food acceptance. Although taste has been widely studied in regards of pure tastes such as bitter or sweet perception, the relationship between taste related genes and food preferences has seldom been explored.
In this work we investigated relationship of 37 taste-related genes with food preferences in communities coming from 5 different countries along the Silk Road.
More than 400 subjects completed a food preference questionnaire comprised of common foods specific to each culture. Subjects rated their liking of each item on a 5-point scale ranging from “like extremely” to “dislike extremely”. Liking rating was used as a quantitative variable in the statistical analyses. DNA sample was also obtained and other information, such as age, sex, life style and anthropometrical measures, were collected.
Statistically significant associations were detected between variants of candidate genes and liking ratings for specific foods. Interestingly, liking of vodka (p=1.6x10-3) and white wine (p=4.0x10-4) was associated with the sweet receptor T1R2, supporting the idea that sweet taste contributes to variation in liking for alcohol. Liking of tea was associated with the PCLB2 gene (p=8.0x10-4) which is expressed in type II taste buds cells and in olfactory epithelium, and is involved in the response to caffeine.
Preferences for both lamb meat (p=5.8x10-4) and sheep cheese (p=8.9x10-4) were associated with ITPR3 gene, expressed in the taste and olfactory systems. Finally, liking for beet was associated with TRPV1 (p=3.8x10-5) which has been implicated in oral irritation from isothiocynates.
These findings give a new insight on a better understanding of genetic factors influencing food preferences which is critical to the development of effective dietary interventions, especially for people that may be genetically not predisposed for liking specific nutrients
Taste, Nutrition, and Health
Full text linkThe sensation of flavour reflects the complex integration of aroma, taste, texture, and chemesthetic (oral and nasal irritation cues) from a food or food component. Flavour is a major determinant of food palatability-the extent to which a food is accepted or rejected-and can profoundly influence diet selection, nutrition, and health. Despite recent progress, there are still gaps in knowledge on how taste and flavour cues are detected at the periphery, conveyed by the brainstem to higher cortical levels and then interpreted as a conscious sensation. Taste signals are also projected to central feeding centers where they can regulate hunger and fullness. Individual differences in sensory perceptions are also well known and can arise from genetic variation, environmental causes, or a variety of metabolic diseases, such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, and cancer. Genetic taste/smell variation could predispose individuals to these same diseases. Recent findings have also opened new avenues of inquiry, suggesting that fatty acids and carbohydrates may provide nutrient-specific signals informing the gut and brain of the nature of the ingested nutrients. This special issue on "Taste, Nutrition, and Health" presents original research communications and comprehensive reviews on topics of broad interest to researchers and educators in sensory science, nutrition, physiology, public health, and health care
A “Population-based Approach” To Study The Impact Of PROP Perception On Food Liking In Populations Along The Silk Road
No full textResponsiveness to certain bitter tasting compounds, such us PROP (6-n-propylthiouracil), is a variable trait both within and between human populations. Genetic variations in the TAS2R38 taste gene accounts for a major portion of phenotypic variation in PROP taste sensitivity. PROP-related differences have been also shown to influence food preferences and dietary behaviour, but this relation is extremely complex and findings are not always uniform. In this study we first examined the link between taste responses to PROP and self-reported food preferences in six different populations of the Caucasus and Central Asia, located along the ancient Silk Road. In addition, we performed a candidate gene study aimed to identify if other genes of the TAS2R family contribute to the PROP phenotype, in association with TAS2R38. We found a strong relationship between PROP tasting and food preferences (Mantel test r=0.67, p-value=0.009) using a “population-based approach”, in which we exploit phenotypic differences between populations comparing a distance matrix based on PROP taste responses and a matrix based on food preferences. No evidence of correlation was found between the distance matrix of food preferences and the matrix of genetic distance based on TAS2R38. Preliminary results of candidate gene analysis allow us to identify other TAS2R genes that could cooperate with TAS2R38 in the modulation of PROP perception and as consequence also food liking.
Our results suggest that PROP status is probably a marker for general taste sensitivity and as such is a major driver of food preferences. The “population-based approach” proved to be a good method to clarify the controversial relation between PROP perception and food liking and could possibly be applied to other traits as well. In addition, our work represents a starting point to study the involvement of multiple genes in PROP perception and food liking
Understanding the role of personality and alexithymia in food preferences and PROP taste perception
No full textTaste perception and food preferences are influenced by a variety of factors, including personality characteristics. The aims of this study were to examine the role of personality characteristics, such as alexithymia (a personality construct characterized by inability to identify, describe, and work with one's own feelings), in: 1) taste responses to the bitter genetic taste-marker PROP and 2) food liking. We studied 649 healthy subjects residing in six genetically-isolated villages of Northeast Italy. Data on PROP taste responsiveness, food liking, personality characteristics and TAS2R28 genotypes were collected.Results showed that PROP non-tasters had higher alexithymia scores than PROP tasters. Moreover, the presence of alexithymia in heterozygous individuals for the rs1726886 polymorphism of the TAS2R38 gene was associated with a reduction in the perceived intensity of PROP.Finally, higher alexithymia scores were associated with liking of alcohol, sweets and fats/meats whereas lower alexithymia scores were related to liking of vegetables, condiments and strong cheeses, Measures of temperament, character, anxiety and depression were also related to food liking.Our findings suggest that: 1) alexithymia, in addition to the TAS2R38 polymorphism, may play a role in responsiveness to the aversive and bitter taste of PROP; and 2) alexithymia, in combination with other personality traits, may provide important insights for better understanding food liking
The Role Of Personality Traits On Taste Perception and Food Preferences.
No full textThe relationship between individual differences in taste perception and personality dimensions has not been thoroughly examined. The genetically determined sensitivity to certain bitter tastes, such as PROP and PTC, is one of the most studied individual differences in humans. It is in part explained from genotypic variation of TAS2R38 gene, but others factors including personal characteristics could be involved. Our study aimed to analyse the possible relationship between personality traits, PROP bitterness and food preferences. We report data obtained from a total of ~700 healthy individuals (aged 18-76) coming from 6 different small villages in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in northern Italy. PROP taste phenotype was determined using a method previously described (Zhao et al, 2003). Individuals completed also a food preferences questionnaire on different foods, rating their liking of each item on a 9-point scale ranging from “like extremely” to “dislike extremely”. Standardized questionnaires were administered to characterize subjects on selected personality traits (Temperament and Character Inventory – TCI) and alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale – TAS-20), a personality construct characterized by an impaired ability to identify, differentiate and describe feelings and to distinguish between feelings and bodily sensations of emotional arousal.
Regression analysis detected an association between PROP intensity and alexithymia (TAS Total score), such that high alexithymic individuals showed a reduced PROP responsiveness (p-value=0.0147). Furthermore, these same subjects exhibited a statistically significant lower preference for specific foods, including broccoli, red radish, artichokes, black olives, fava beans. Our results suggest that bitter taste perception and food preferences could be modulated by difficulty in distinguishing and describing feelings and emotional responses to stimuli that characterized the alexithymic personality.
This study can also provide insight to a clearer understanding of the motivations of consumers and their effects to choice diets
Individual Differences in Prefrontal Cortex Activity during Perception of Bitter Taste Using fNIRS Methodology
No full textAlthough bitter taste has a crucial role in nutrition by preventing the ingestion of toxic foods, there are few studies on bitter taste neuroimaging. To identify cortical areas involved in bitter taste perception and to determine if individual differences in taste sensitivity to 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) are represented in the brain by different cortical activation patterns, we examined 48 healthy volunteers using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Participants rated the perceived intensity of filter paper disks impregnated with PROP and NaCl during the imaging procedure and were then classified as PROP tasters and nontasters. We monitored cortical activity in both the anterior and posterior regions of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC). No activity was detected in the anterior DLPFC in any of the participants. However, during the administration of PROP, significant cortical activation was detected in the more posterior regions of the left DLPFC and in the left and right VLPFC but only in PROP tasters. PROP nontasters showed no cortical activity in these areas. These data suggest that the prefrontal cortex is involved in the conscious perception of the bitter taste of PROP and that the pattern of activity is consistent with individual differences in the ability to taste this compound. Thus, the PROP phenotype is associated with fundamental differences in cortical taste processing
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