Inter-individual characteristics on basic taste recognition thresholds in a college-aged cohort: potential predictive factors.

Studying nutritional status from the perspective of taste sensitivity, rather than only dietary patterns, may provide new insights into the role of taste receptor signaling in the development of metabolic-associated diseases. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated the possible influence of sociodemographic (sex and smoking habit) and clinical variables (dental cavities, missing teeth, sinusitis, rhinitis, body mass index and metabolic high prevalence family antecedent diseases) on tastant (sucrose, monosodium glutamate, sodium chloride, citric acid, quinine, sinigrin, phenylthiocarbamide) recognition thresholds (RTs) in a college-aged cohort (n = 397). Predictive models for the tastant RTs were generated and a higher sucrose RT was found in females than in males, while sinusitis and rhinitis explained sucrose and sodium chloride RTs. Smoking habit was not an important predictive factor of taste sensitivity, although its long-term influence on RTs remains unclear. Additionally, a positive correlation was found between all the tastant RTs studied. Although results did not show a clear pattern, the statistical approach employed should prove useful in future studies of predictors of taste sensitivity.

Association of phenylthiocarbamide perception with anthropometric variables and intake and liking for bitter vegetables.

Phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) sensitivity, a sensory trait mediated by the bitter taste receptor 38 (TAS2R38), has been described as a promising biomarker of health status or disease risk. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the influence of PTC phenotypes on (1) individual anthropometric and clinical history variables; (2) other basic taste recognition thresholds (RTs), and (3) the hedonic perception and habitual intake of Brassicaceae vegetables in a young adult population (18.9 ± 1.7 years old). The PTC phenotype was determined by the quantitative measure of the PTC recognition threshold (non-tasters, 24.1%; tasters, 52.3%; and super tasters, 23.6%). No significant differences in smoking habits, oral and nasal disorders, family antecedents of diseases related to metabolic syndrome, and Brassicaceae vegetable hedonic perception and consumption were found between the PTC phenotype groups. The average BMI of super-taster females and males was significantly lower compared to non-tasters. In addition, the PTC taster status was a predictor of lower scores for other basic taste RTs. Overall, the defined PTC super-taster cohort could be differentiated from the non-tasters by variables related to weight control such as BMI and sucrose RT.