Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada, N1G2W1.
Department of Food Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada, N1G2W1.
Nutr Res. 2021 Jan;85:40-46. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2020.12.007. Epub 2020 Dec 5.
Taste is a fundamental mechanism whereby compounds are detected orally, yet it is highly variable among individuals. The variability in taste that is attributable to genetics is not well-characterized despite its potential role in food selection, and therefore, eating habits that contribute to risk of overweight and obesity. In order to implicate measures of taste function and preference as potentially deterministic factors in adverse eating behaviors that lead to obesity, it must be shown that a relationship exists between genetic variation in taste receptor genes and psychophysical measures of taste in the absence high body mass index. The primary objective of this pilot study was to investigate the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in taste receptor genes and 3 different psychophysical measures of taste in healthy young adults. Sweet, salt, umami, fat, sour, and bitter taste receptor gene SNPs were genotyped in 49 participants (ages 24.6 ± 0.6 years) who completed testing to determine oral detection threshold (DT), suprathreshold sensitivity (ST) and taste preference (PR). A simultaneous association test was conducted between each SNP and the 3 taste outcomes (DT, ST, and PR). Twelve SNPs were associated with at least one of the 3 taste outcomes. Associations were observed between SNPs in taste receptor genes and psychophysical measures of sweet, fat, umami, and salt taste. These results suggest that differences in interindividual psychophysical measures of tastes, namely DT, ST, and PR, may be partially attributed to genetic variation in taste receptor genes. Future studies are warranted to investigate if these findings have consequences for habitual dietary intake of foods that elicit these tastes.
味觉是一种通过口腔检测化合物的基本机制，但个体之间的味觉差异很大。尽管味觉的遗传变异可能在食物选择中起作用，但对其的了解并不充分，而这种遗传变异也可能导致超重和肥胖的风险。为了将味觉功能和偏好的衡量标准作为导致肥胖的不良饮食习惯的潜在决定因素，必须证明味觉受体基因的遗传变异与味觉的心理物理测量之间存在关系，而这种关系与高体重指数无关。本初步研究的主要目的是调查味觉受体基因中单核苷酸多态性（SNP）与健康年轻成年人的 3 种不同味觉心理物理测量之间的关系。在 49 名参与者（年龄 24.6±0.6 岁）中，对甜味、咸味、鲜味、脂肪、酸味和苦味味觉受体基因 SNP 进行了基因分型，这些参与者完成了口腔检测阈值（DT）、阈上敏感度（ST）和味觉偏好（PR）的测试。对每个 SNP 与 3 种味觉结果（DT、ST 和 PR）之间的关系进行了同时关联检验。有 12 个 SNP 与至少 1 种味觉结果相关。味觉受体基因中的 SNP 与甜味、脂肪、鲜味和咸味的心理物理测量结果之间存在关联。这些结果表明，个体间味觉的心理物理测量差异，即 DT、ST 和 PR，可能部分归因于味觉受体基因的遗传变异。需要进一步的研究来调查这些发现是否对引起这些味觉的习惯性饮食摄入有影响。
