Singh S B, Chatterjee A, Panjwani U, Yadav D K, Selvamurthy W, Sharma K N
Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences, Timarpur, Delhi, India.
Int J Biometeorol. 2000 May;44(1):20-3. doi: 10.1007/s004840050134.
Sensitivity to the taste of phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) was studied using the Harris-Kalmus method in healthy human volunteers at sea level and then subsequently at an altitude of 3500 m over a period of 3 weeks, after which they were brought back to sea level. Blood sugar, insulin and blood cortisol levels were estimated weekly. The results indicated that, out of 51 subjects studied, 26 (55%) were PTC tasters at sea level. Eight of those unable to taste PTC at sea level tested as tasters at high altitude, and 2 of them reverted to being non-tasters on return to sea level. In the blood, an increase in cortisol and blood insulin levels was seen without any significant change in sugar levels. All the changes recorded at high altitude tended to return to basal values after re-induction to sea level. The study suggests that high-altitude hypoxia in some way, possibly involving changes in hormonal profile among other factors, causes an alteration in sensitivity to the taste of PTC, resulting in some of the individuals shifting to lower PTC sensitivity.
采用哈里斯 - 卡尔穆斯方法，在海平面高度对健康人类志愿者的苯硫脲（PTC）味觉敏感性进行了研究，随后在海拔3500米的高度持续研究3周，之后再将他们带回海平面。每周对血糖、胰岛素和血液皮质醇水平进行评估。结果表明，在研究的51名受试者中，有26名（55%）在海平面时是PTC尝味者。其中8名在海平面无法尝出PTC味道的受试者在高海拔时被检测为尝味者，并且其中2名在回到海平面后又变回了非尝味者。在血液中，皮质醇和血液胰岛素水平升高，而血糖水平无显著变化。在重新回到海平面后，所有在高海拔记录到的变化都趋于恢复到基础值。该研究表明，高原缺氧可能通过某种方式，可能涉及激素水平变化等其他因素，导致对PTC味觉的敏感性发生改变，使得一些个体的PTC敏感性降低。
