The Associations Between Bitter and Fat Taste Sensitivity, and Dietary Fat Intake: Are They Impacted by Genetic Predisposition?

Abstract

A relationship between bitter and fat taste sensitivity, CD36 rs1761667 and TAS2R38 has been demonstrated. However, research is scarce and does not take diet into account. This study aimed to explore associations between genetics, fat and bitter taste sensitivity and dietary fat intake in healthy UK adults. A cross-sectional study was carried out on 88 Caucasian participants (49 females and 39 males aged 35 ± 1 years; body mass index 24.9 ± 0.5 kg/m 2). Bitter taste sensitivity was assessed using phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) impregnated strips and the general Labelled Magnitude Scale. Fat taste sensitivity was assessed by the Ascending Forced Choice Triangle Procedure and dietary intake with a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Genotyping for rs713598, rs1726866, rs10246939 and rs1761667 was performed. Participants with TAS2R38 PAV/PAV diplotype perceived PTC strips as more bitter than groups carrying AVI haplotypes (AVI/AVI, p = 1x10 -6; AVI/AAV, p = 0.029). CD36 rs1761667 was associated with fat taste sensitivity (p = 0.008). A negative correlation between bitter taste sensitivity and saturated fat intake was observed (rs = -0.256, p = 0.016). When combining the CD36 genotypes and TAS2R38 diplotypes into one variable, participants carrying both TAS2R38 AVI haplotype and CD36 A allele had a higher intake of saturated fat compared to carriers of CD36 GG genotype or TAS2R38 PAV/PAV and PAV/AAV diplotypes (13.8 ± 0.3 vs 12.6 ± 0.5 %TEI, p = 0.047) warranting further exploration in a larger cohort.

Are there differences in taste preferences according to genetic polymorphisms? A study with children submitted to different methods of complementary feeding?

“…Regarding the associations with SNPs related to bitter TP, in adults, research shows that the absence of TAS2R38 SNPs is associated with a preference for bitter foods, higher consumption of vegetables, as well as bitter and astringent fruit juices (Barragán et In a survey carried out in the United States of America, adults insensitive to bitterness could increase their consumption of vegetables after six months of intervention (Calancie et al, 2018). The SNPs of the same genes were also related, in a cross-sectional study in the European Union, to lower saturated fat intake (Graham et al, 2021). Furthermore, TAS2R38 SNPs have been associated with the amount of added sugar in adults (Diószegi et al, 2021), and the preference for sweet foods (Diószegi et al, 2019), even when adjusted for gender and BMI (Cecati et al, 2022).…”

Intensity and appreciation of sweet taste solutions are modulated by high-intensity aerobic exercise in adolescent athletic males

“…Bitterness is one of the least explored tastes, hence why it was essential to include this taste in the current study. While the literature on bitterness in relation to food consumption is still scarce, there is some evidence that bitter sensitivity and overall taste function could have implications regarding energy consumption (Choi, 2019; Graham et al, 2021).…”