Institute for Maternal and Child Health - IRCCS ''Burlo Garofolo", Via dell'Istria 65/1, 34137, Trieste, Italy; Department of Medical Sciences, University of Trieste, Strada di Fiume 447, 34149, Trieste, Italy.
Illycaffè S.p.A, Via Flavia 110, 34147, Trieste, Italy.
Physiol Behav. 2022 Feb 1;244:113655. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2021.113655. Epub 2021 Nov 20.
In this study, we evaluated the influence of taste phenotypes and genotypes on the hedonics of sweetened and unsweetened coffee.
Liking of espresso coffee from food questionnaire and of a ready-to-drink unsweetened coffee beverage was measured using a 9-point hedonic scale in 1551 Italian individuals. Perception and liking for different bitter and sweet compounds were also collected. Genotyping of selected Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in five taste genes (TAS1R3, GNAT3, TAS2R14, TAS2R19, TAS2R38) was performed. Linear and logistic regression models, including sex and gender as covariates, were used to test the relationship of taste phenotypes and selected SNPs with coffee liking.
We found that increased caffeine bitterness perception was associated with an increasing liking for sweetened coffee (p-value = 0.018) and decreased liking of unsweetened coffee (p-value = 0.034). The liking of unsweetened coffee beverage was also negatively associated with sweet intensity perception (p-value = 0.03). Analysis of SNPs in taste-related genes showed that rs6467192 G allele (intron 4 variant) in GNAT3 sweet taste gene was associated with higher liking of sweetened coffee (p-value = 0.002) and lower liking of unsweetened coffee (p-value = 0.01). An association also emerged between unsweetened coffee and SNPs in bitter receptor genes, with rs2597979 in TAS2R14 gene associated with liking of unsweetened coffee (p-value = 0.004) and rs10772420 in TAS2R19 gene associated with liking of both unsweetened espresso coffee and coffee beverage (p-value = 0.04 and p-value = 0.03, respectively).
These findings suggested that individual preference for sweetened and unsweetened coffee may be influenced by both phenotypic and nucleotide variations in bitter and sweet taste sensitivity.
本研究旨在评估味觉表型和基因型对加糖和无糖咖啡愉悦感的影响。
通过 9 分愉悦尺度，对 1551 名意大利个体的浓咖啡和即饮型无糖咖啡饮料的喜好进行评估。还收集了对不同苦甜化合物的感知和喜好。对五个味觉基因（TAS1R3、GNAT3、TAS2R14、TAS2R19、TAS2R38）中选定的单核苷酸多态性（SNP）进行基因分型。包括性别和性别作为协变量的线性和逻辑回归模型，用于测试味觉表型和选定 SNPs 与咖啡喜好的关系。
我们发现，咖啡因苦味感知增加与加糖咖啡喜好增加（p 值=0.018）和无糖咖啡喜好减少（p 值=0.034）相关。无糖咖啡饮料的喜好也与甜味强度感知呈负相关（p 值=0.03）。味觉相关基因 SNP 分析表明，GNAT3 甜味基因中的 rs6467192 G 等位基因（内含子 4 变体）与加糖咖啡的喜好增加（p 值=0.002）和无糖咖啡的喜好减少（p 值=0.01）相关。苦味受体基因中的 SNP 也与无糖咖啡有关联，TAS2R14 基因中的 rs2597979 与无糖咖啡的喜好相关（p 值=0.004），TAS2R19 基因中的 rs10772420 与无糖浓咖啡和咖啡饮料的喜好相关（p 值=0.04 和 p 值=0.03）。
这些发现表明，对加糖和无糖咖啡的个人偏好可能受到苦味和甜味敏感性的表型和核苷酸变异的影响。
