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Exploring Ethnic Differences in Taste Perception.

ABSTRACT: It is well known that nutritional intake can vary substantially as a function of demographic variables such as ethnicity and/or sex. Although a variety of factors are known to underlie the relationship between these demographic variables and nutritional intake, it is interesting to speculate that variation in food intake associated with ethnicity or sex may result, in part, from differences in the perceived taste of foods in these different populations. Thus, we initiated a study to evaluate taste responsiveness in different ethnic groups. Moreover, because of the known differences in taste responsiveness between males and females, analyses were stratified by sex. The ethnic groups tested differed significantly from one another in reported perceived taste intensity. Our results showed that Hispanics and African Americans rated taste sensations higher than non-Hispanic Whites and that these differences were more pronounced in males. Understanding the nature of these differences in taste perception is important, because taste perception may contribute to dietary health risk. When attempting to modify diet, individuals of different ethnicities may require personalized interventions that take into account the different sensory experience that these individuals may have when consuming foods.

SUBMITTER: Williams JA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4910674 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Exploring Ethnic Differences in Taste Perception.

Williams Johnny A JA Bartoshuk Linda M LM Fillingim Roger B RB Dotson Cedrick D CD

Chemical senses 20160318 5

It is well known that nutritional intake can vary substantially as a function of demographic variables such as ethnicity and/or sex. Although a variety of factors are known to underlie the relationship between these demographic variables and nutritional intake, it is interesting to speculate that variation in food intake associated with ethnicity or sex may result, in part, from differences in the perceived taste of foods in these different populations. Thus, we initiated a study to evaluate tas ...[more]

PMID: 26994473

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Project description:Previous reports that the sensitivity to the bitter tasting substance 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) is related to the sensitivity to other tastes, to chemical irritants, and to fats and oils have led to adoption of PROP as a measure of general oral sensitivity and as a predictor of dietary habits that could impact health. The results, however, have not been consistent. It was recently discovered that the ability to perceive "thermal taste" (i.e., sweetness from thermal stimulation alone) was associated with higher responsiveness to 4 prototypical taste stimuli but not to PROP. This finding implied that individual differences in taste perception are determined in large part by factors other than those related to genetic expression of the PROP receptor. The present study followed up this observation by comparing individual differences in perception of 4 prototypical taste stimuli (sucrose, NaCl, citric acid, and quinine) and PROP under conditions that also enabled assessment of the reliability of individual intensity ratings of taste. Creaminess ratings of 3 milk products that had different fat contents were also collected to investigate further the relationship between taste and oral somatosensory perception. The results showed that intensity ratings across 2 trials were significantly correlated for all 5 taste stimuli and that averaging across replicates led to significant correlations among the 4 prototypical stimuli. In contrast, the bitterness of PROP was correlated only with the bitterness of quinine. None of the taste stimuli, including PROP, was significantly correlated with ratings of creaminess. These results imply 1) that with the exception of PROP, as few as 2 intensity ratings of common taste stimuli can reveal individual differences in overall taste perception and 2) that any relationship between taste and oral sensation is too weak to be detected under the same conditions. Accordingly, the results support other evidence that the genetic factors which determine the ability to perceive PROP do not play a major role in overall taste and oral somatosensory perception.

Project description:The aim of the study was to verify the hypothesis about differences in sweet taste perception in the group of preschool children with and without caries, and to determine its relationship with cariogenic microbiota and the frequency of sweets consumption in children. The study group included of 63 children aged 2-6 years: 32 with caries and 31 without caries. The study consisted of collecting questionnaire data and assessment of dental status using the decayed, missing, filled in primary teeth index (dmft) and the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS II). The evaluation of sweet taste perception was carried out using a specific method that simultaneously assessed the level of taste preferences and the sensitivity threshold for a given taste. The microbiological analysis consisted of the assessment of the quantitative and qualitative compositions of the oral microbiota of the examined children. The sweet taste perception of children with caries was characterized by a lower susceptibility to sucrose (the preferred sucrose solution concentration was >4 g/L) compared to children without caries (in the range ? 4 g/L, p = 0.0015, chi-square test). A similar relationship was also observed for frequent snacking between meals (p = 0.0038, chi-square test). The analysis of studied variables showed the existence of a strong positive correlation between the perception of sweet taste and the occurrence and intensity of the cariogenic process (p = 0.007 for dmft; and p = 0.012 for ICDAS II), as well as the frequency of consuming sweets (p ? 0.001 for frequent and repeated consumption of sweets during the day, Spearman test) in children with caries. Additionally, children with an elevated sucrose taste threshold were more than 10-times more likely to develop S. mutans presence (OR = 10.21; 95% CI 3.11-33.44). The results of this study suggest the future use of taste preferences in children as a diagnostic tool for the early detection of increased susceptibility to caries through microbial dysbiosis towards specific species of microorganisms.

Dataset Information

Exploring Ethnic Differences in Taste Perception.

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Exploring Ethnic Differences in Taste Perception.

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