Salivary leptin and TAS1R2/TAS1R3 polymorphisms are related to sweet taste sensitivity and carbohydrate intake from a buffet meal in healthy young adults

Abstract

The influence of sweet taste sensitivity on food intake is not well understood. We investigated the involvement of salivary leptin and SNP of the sweet taste receptor genes (TAS1R2/TAS1R3) on sweet taste sensitivity, sensory-specific satiety (SSS) and macronutrient intake in healthy human adults. In all, nineteen high sweet sensitivity (HS) and eleven low sweet sensitivity (LS) subjects were classified based on the sweetness perception of one solution (9 mm sucrose) forced-choice triangle test. All participants completed a randomised crossover design experiment where they consumed one of three iso-energetic soup preloads differing in primary taste quality (sweet, non-sweet taste-control or no-taste energy-control). A period of 1 h after the preload, participants were offered a buffet meal consisting of foods varying in taste (sweet or non-sweet) and fat content. Subjective measures included hunger/fullness and SSS for sweetness. Saliva and buccal cells were collected to measure leptin level and to study the TAS1R2/TAS1R3 specific SNP, respectively. Salivary leptin concentrations were significantly higher in LS than HS participants (P<0·05). In addition, HS showed stronger sweet SSS compared with LH participants (P<0·05), and consumed less carbohydrate (% energy) and more non-sweet foods than LS (P<0·01 and P<0·05, respectively). Alleles from each TAS1R2 locus (GG compared with AA alleles of rs12033832, and CT/CC compared with TT alleles of rs35874116) were related to higher consumption of carbohydrates (% energy) and higher amount of sweet foods, respectively (P<0·05). In contrast, no associations were found for the TAS1R3 alleles. These results contribute to understand the links between taste sensitivity, macronutrient appetite and food consumption.

Genetic Background of Taste Perception, Taste Preferences, and Its Nutritional Implications: A Systematic Review

“…TAS1R2 is characterized by an increased level of genetic diversity, furthermore TAS1R3 is more conserved (Kim et al, 2006). Candidate gene studies of sweet preference targeted the polymorphic sites located in T1R2 and T1R3 genes involved in the signal transduction of this taste modality (Fushan et al, 2009;Eny et al, 2010;Mennella et al, 2014b;Dias et al, 2015;Joseph et al, 2016;Han et al, 2017), with results not allowing further conclusions to make, since only the effect of the functional Ile191Val (rs35874116) variation (Dias et al, 2015) and the intronic rs3935570 yielded positive findings (Eny et al, 2010;Han et al, 2017) (Table 2). The most convincing results were related to variants in the bitter taste receptor gene (TAS2R38).…”

“…Results of candidate gene studies targeting TAS1R2 rs12033832 (Dias et al, 2015) and TAS1R3 polymorphisms were inconclusive (Fushan et al, 2009;Mennella et al, 2014b). TAS1R2 rs3935570 (Dias et al, 2015) and rs35874116 (Eny et al, 2010;Han et al, 2017) were associated with sweet taste preference but with limited number of studies (n = 1 and n = 2, respectively). Several GNAT3 polymorphisms also showed significant associations (Fushan et al, 2009) Table 2).…”

Taste sensitivity in anorexia nervosa: A systematic review

“…Moreover, despite evidence that the ability to taste some bitter compounds (e.g., 6‐n‐propylthiouracil, or “PROP”) is genetically determined, no study controlled for the potential of genetic variables, potentially contributing to the heterogeneity of results (Tepper, Banni, Melis, Crnjar, & Tomassini Barbarossa, 2014). Similarly, although a number of hormones, including leptin, cholecystokinin (CCK), and ghrelin, have been implicated in taste sensitivity, the reviewed studies did not assess hormone levels (Cai et al, 2013; Han, Keast, & Roura, 2017; Yoshida et al, 2017). Significantly, these hormones are known to be altered in AN, suggesting that future research could explore the role of these biological factors in taste sensitivity in this population (Atalayer, Gibson, Konopacka, & Geliebter, 2013; Cuntz et al, 2013; Hebebrand, Muller, Holtkamp, & Herpertz‐Dahlmann, 2006).…”

Differences in subjective taste between Japanese and Sri Lankan students depending on food composition, nationality, and serum zinc

“…The effect of serum zinc on taste remains contentious; some studies have reported a negative relationship between serum zinc concentrations and taste [22,23], whereas other studies have reported that zinc supplementation effectively improves taste [24,25]. Furthermore, because recent studies have found a relationship between ethnicity and taste sensitivity [19,26], the findings in the present study of a lower taste score among Sri Lankan students may be due to genetic differences or polymorphism of taste-related receptors between Japanese and Sri Lankan people [27,28].…”