Department of Biomedical Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 34212, Saudi Arabia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Aug 10;17(16):5792. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17165792.
Phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) is a bitter compound that is similar in taste to the polyphenols present in most vegetables and fruits. The human taste response towards this compound influences dietary preference, which has a bearing on an individual's body mass index (BMI). Another factor that influences taste perception is fungiform papillae count. This, in turn, is governed by genetic factors or deleterious habits such as smoking. Establishing a link between all the above factors could lead to a wider understanding of obesity, which is a global health issue. PTC taste response, BMI, and fungiform papillae were recorded and statistically analyzed between two groups-smokers and nonsmokers. There was no statistically significant difference between smokers and nonsmokers with regard to PTC tasting ability. However, there was a significant inverse relationship between BMI and PTC tasting ability and fungiform papillae count both in smokers and nonsmokers. Thus, it can be inferred that as BMI increases, there is a lower likelihood of experiencing the bitter taste of PTC. Additionally, the ability to taste PTC decreases with diminishing numbers of fungiform papillae. Smoking does not affect bitter PTC tasting ability despite negatively affecting fungiform papillae count.
苯硫脲（PTC）是一种苦味化合物，其味道与大多数蔬菜和水果中的多酚相似。人类对这种化合物的味觉反应影响着饮食偏好，进而影响个体的体重指数（BMI）。另一个影响味觉感知的因素是菌状乳头数量。而菌状乳头的数量又受到遗传因素或有害习惯（如吸烟）的影响。将所有这些因素联系起来，可以帮助我们更深入地了解肥胖这一全球性健康问题。我们记录了两组人群（吸烟者和非吸烟者）的 PTC 味觉反应、BMI 和菌状乳头数量，并进行了统计分析。在 PTC 味觉能力方面，吸烟者和非吸烟者之间没有统计学上的显著差异。然而，在吸烟者和非吸烟者中，BMI 与 PTC 味觉能力以及菌状乳头数量之间均存在显著的负相关关系。因此，可以推断出，随着 BMI 的增加，体验 PTC 苦味的可能性会降低。此外，随着菌状乳头数量的减少，PTC 的味觉能力也会下降。尽管吸烟会对菌状乳头数量产生负面影响，但它不会影响 PTC 的苦味感知能力。
