Genetic Sensitivity to 6-n-Propylthiouracil Has No Influence on Dietary Patterns, Body Mass Indexes, or Plasma Lipid Profiles of Women

doi:10.1016/j.jada.2007.05.013

Journal of the American Dietetic Association

Volume 107, Issue 8, August 2007, Pages 1340-1348

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2007.05.013 Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

Genetic sensitivity to the bitter taste of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) has been reported to determine preferences for bitter, sweet, and fat-containing foods, affect dietary habits, influence body weight, and modify chronic disease risk.

Objective

To examine associations between PROP responsiveness, food choices, dietary intakes, and plasma chemistries in a clinical sample of adult women.

Subjects/design

This nested case-control study was based on female breast cancer patients (n=179) and cancer-free controls (n=179).

Main outcome measures

Taste responsiveness measure was based on a 25:50:25 split of summed bitterness ratings of five PROP solutions. Food preferences were based on a 171-item checklist. Food and nutrient intakes were assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. Heights and weights were measured and plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels were obtained.

Results

High PROP response was unrelated to reported preferences for sweet or high-fat foods. PROP responsiveness was unrelated to the reported frequency of food use, or to macronutrient composition of the diet. In regression models, PROP responsiveness had no influence on percent of dietary fat, body mass index, or plasma cholesterol, after adjusting for covariates.

Conclusions

In this study PROP responsiveness was not associated with diets lower in sugar and fat, more favorable plasma lipid profiles, or with lower body mass indexes. The study provided no evidence to suggest that genetic PROP taster status had a measurable influence on health outcomes. The clinical utility of PROP taster screening is not supported by these study results.

Section snippets

Participants

Female patients were recruited through the Breast Care Center at the University of Michigan Hospitals. The patient pool was based on consecutive admissions to the Breast Care Center for examination, diagnosis, or treatment. Women who were younger than 18 years old, who were pregnant or lactating, who had mental disabilities or language barriers that resulted in communication and comprehension problems, or who had other diseases that may affect taste function were not eligible for the study.

Participant Characteristics

Approximately 50% of the presenting women patients were ineligible, mostly because of a previous history of cancer. As shown in Table 1, the recruited patients were mostly white, well educated, and had above-average incomes. Mean age was 49.4 years, mean weight was 70.4 kg, and mean BMI was 26.2.

No significant differences in weights, BMIs, or body fatness were observed between cases and controls. Because breast cancer risk increases with age, cancer cases were older than controls (mean age 51.3

Discussion

In this study of 358 women, there were no significant links between PROP responsiveness and food preferences, food or macronutrient intakes, BMIs, measures of body fatness, or plasma lipids. The only significant finding was that high PROP responders consumed less energy than did low PROP responders. Study analyses made use of regression models, adjusting for covariates. There was no evidence in support of the argument that genetic taste responsiveness to PROP has a major influence on dietary

Conclusions

Understanding the nature of genetic variation in bitter taste and its relationship to dietary choices may have important implications for the health of human beings. Although genetic taste markers may influence self-reported liking for some bitter foods, they seem to have little influence on diet composition, body weight, plasma lipid profiles, or disease risk. Our data are consistent with recent reports that PROP tasting does not necessarily predict sensitivity to other bitter compounds, let

A. Drewnowski is a professor of epidemiology and medicine, Nutritional Sciences Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.

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Gustin, a trophic factor for taste bud development, and its polymorphism at rs2274333 influence taste perception of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) and fungiform papillae (FP) density. The PROP taster status affects dietary fat sensing and body composition. However, there is a paucity of research on the gustin genotype with dietary fat perception, PROP tasting ability, and body mass index (BMI). Thus, taste sensitivity to fat and bitterness was evaluated in 178 healthy individuals. The general labeled magnitude scale was used to determine suprathreshold taste intensity ratings, whereas the alternative forced choice approach was used to estimate the taste-sensing ability. The FP density was assessed by applying blue-colored food dye over the anterior region of the tongue. Restriction fragment length polymorphism was used to detect the genetic polymorphism (rs2274333) in the carbonic anhydrase VI (CA-VI) gene. Fisher's chi-square analysis showed that the CA-VI genotype and allelic frequencies significantly correlated (p<0.001) with the PROP taster status and BMI. Healthy individuals with AA genotypes of the CA-VI polymorphism and PROP super-tasters demonstrated stronger gustatory sensitivity for linoleic acid (LA) with greater FP density in comparison to individuals with AG/GG genotypes and other PROP taster groups. Stepwise forward multiple regression analysis indicates that BMI and PROP taster status significantly influence the LA sensing ability. The suprathreshold intensity rating for LA was also significantly impacted by PROP taster status and CA-VI genotypes, with a variation of 73.3%. Overall, our findings show a relationship between the taste papillae environment and the CA-VI genetic mutation at rs2274333, which influenced the gustatory preference for dietary fat and bitter taste.
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Growing interest in plant-based alternative products offers hope for a more sustainable future. Oat and pea are among the most potential raw materials, due to their nutritional value and their widespread growth. However, one of the key issues with the development of such products is their bitter off-taste due to ingredients like saponins, amino acids, and fatty acids. The perception of bitterness varies between compounds and depends on physiological differences among individuals, which also complicates the development of plant-based alternatives. This study aimed to investigate individual differences in bitterness sensitivity, with a particular focus on pea and oat products. Sensory evaluations (n = 12) and consumer tests (n = 100) showed that people were generally more sensitive to the bitterness of peas than oats. No statistically significant difference was observed in bitterness perception based on diet habits. Furthermore, findings demonstrated that no general standard for assessing a variety of product groups can be recommended for sensory analysis. Well-established bitter standards such as PROP, quinine, and caffeine, were not correlating with other bitter stimuli. Thus, the choice of the bitter standards to be used in sensory analysis depends on the purpose of the study and the samples included.
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Differences in taste perception have been related to eating behavior, nutritional status, and diseases. Recently, taste receptors have been identified in several extra-oral tissues, such as the gastrointestinal tract, where they seem to influence processes like digestion, sense of satiety as well as energy balance and intraluminal changes occurring in obesity.
Our study aims to analyze differences in taste perception among 42 obese patients (OB) and 41 normal-weight subjects (LEAN). Polymorphisms in the gene codifying for the bitter taste receptor TAS2R38 and its expression on the surface of the gastric mucosa were tested and compared among OB and LEAN.
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Logistic regression analysis showed that OB perceives sweet (sucrose) and bitter (PROP or 6-n-propylthiouracil) taste more intensely than LEAN (p-value = 0.02 and p-value = 0.005, respectively). While polymorphisms in TAS2R38 gene did not differ among OB and LEAN, we observed a significant increase of TAS2R38 mRNA levels in the stomach of OB compared to LEAN (p = 0.01).
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Core disgust is a negative emotion, comprised of disgust in response to food, animals, and from the body itself (and its products). Individual differences exist in the level to which people experience the emotion of core disgust. Sensitivity to disgust has been associated negatively with Body Mass Index (BMI) in overweight and obese people, and to eating disorders independently from BMI. This study investigates the relationship between disgust sensitivity and BMI by examining data from the Italian Taste Project (n = 2317). We hypothesized that the relationship between disgust sensitivity and BMI, after accounting for age and gender, may be mediated by other factors, such as 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) sensitivity or eating restraint, and that this relationship might differ in non-obese and obese individuals. Results showed that the relationship between sensitivity to disgust and food behaviors is complex and differs between obese and non-obese people. Two mediation models were considered. In the first case restrained eating acted as a mediator of disgust sensitivity in the prediction of BMI, while in the second one BMI acted only as a partial mediator of disgust sensitivity in the prediction of restrained eating. This suggests that heightened sensitivity to core disgust may be associated with a heightened sensitivity to self-disgust, motivating restrained eating behaviors when BMI is higher, but only in non-obese individuals.
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A. Drewnowski is a professor of epidemiology and medicine, Nutritional Sciences Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.

S. A. Henderson is an information scientist, Pfizer Product Information, Pfizer Global Research and Development, Michigan Laboratories, Ann Arbor, MI.

J. Cockroft is a Medical Research Council research fellow, Nutritional Epidemiology Group, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, The University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom.

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ResearchCurrent ResearchGenetic Sensitivity to 6-n-Propylthiouracil Has No Influence on Dietary Patterns, Body Mass Indexes, or Plasma Lipid Profiles of Women

Abstract

Background

Objective

Subjects/design

Main outcome measures

Results

Conclusions

Section snippets

Participants

Participant Characteristics

Discussion

Conclusions

Am J Clin Nutr

J Am Diet Assoc

Physiol Behav

Appetite

Am J Clin Nutr

Am J Clin Nutr

Physiol Behav

Physiol Behav

Physiol Behav

Physiol Behav

Physiol Behav

Appetite

Physiol Behav

J Am Diet Assoc

J Am Diet Assoc

Physiol Behav

Appetite

J Am Diet Assoc

J Am Diet Assoc

Am J Clin Nutr

J Am Diet Assoc

Am J Clin Nutr

J Am Diet Assoc

Lancet

Am J Prev Med

The measurement of taste sensitivity to phenylthiourea

Ann Eugen

Improvements in the classification of the taster genotypes

Ann Hum Genet

Taste thresholds, cigarette smoking and food dislikes

Medicina Experimentalis

Food preference and sensitivity of taste for bitter compounds

Nature

Genetic variation in taste: Potential biomarker for cardiovascular disease risk?

Research
Current Research
Genetic Sensitivity to 6-n-Propylthiouracil Has No Influence on Dietary Patterns, Body Mass Indexes, or Plasma Lipid Profiles of Women