Aim: Taste is a major determinant of food choice; however, there is a great
lack of knowledge about how taste perception affects human nutrition. Bitter
taste perception presents unique opportunities for investigating this
subject. The aim of this study was to determine whether polymorphisms on the
bitter taste receptor gene hTAS2R38 affect an individual?s food choices and
some anthropometric variables. Subjects and Method: In this study, the
possible relationship between food preferences, body weight, and
polymorphisms on hTAS2R38 was investigated in healthy volunteers (n=178) who
weighed within the normal range (BMI: 20-24.9 kg/m2, n=90) and those who were
overweight, but otherwise healthy (BMI ? 25.0 kg/m2, n=88). Descriptive
information about the subjects was collected via a questionnaire, and
anthropometric measurements were taken by the researcher. Records of three
consecutive days of food consumption were collected to determine each
subject?s macronutrient intake. For identification of the hTAS2R38 genotype,
samples were taken from each participant's in-mouth epithelial cell line, and
the genetic material was analyzed at the laboratory for Rs713598. Results:
The percentage of ?non-tasters? (n=42) among the whole population was 23.6%
(C-Homozygote: 23.6%) while ?tasters? (n=136) comprised 76.4%
(CG-Heterozygote: 46.6%, G-Homozygote: 29.8%). When group-wide and
between-group comparisons were made, it was revealed that taster status
didn?t affect differences in anthropometric measures. Detected differences in
macronutrient intake were due to gender. Discussion: Polymorphisms on
hTAS2R38 bitter taste receptor gene had no effect on variables such as body
weight, anthropometric variables, body fat percentage, or food choices within
the study population.
Associations between 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) bitterness, macronutrient intake and variations in bitter-taste receptor gene TAS2R38
