Remember when you said: “Yuk. That dessert’s too sweet!” And your good friend said: “What? It’s tastes perfect to me!” Well, those different reactions are the result of your genes rather than your sophisticated palettes.
This is according to Nathan Gray in foodnavigator.com, who reports a “Review highlights genetic variations in sweet taste.” (Must tell you, I learned this awhile ago on 23andMe, who uses your DNA to give you insights on some 100 personal traits, bitter and sweet taste being among them.)
But, on to the review and its implications for the types of foods manufacturers might create. We quote:
“Better understanding of the genetic factors behind the considerable variation in sweet taste perception and preferences may help to create foods that are better accepted by consumers, say scientists.”
The new review, published in Flavour and Fragrance Journal and funded by grants from the US National Institute for Health (NIH) and the Ajinomoto Amino Acid Research Program, highlights that although learning mechanisms contribute to variations in sweet taste, much of our difference in preference is genetically determined according to ongoing studies using the mouse model with reviews led by Dr Alexander Bachmanov from the Monell Chemical Senses Center, USA. Bachmanov said: These genes are likely involved in central mechanisms of sweet taste processing, reward and/or motivation. … Variation of the sweet taste receptor genes contributes to differences in sweet taste perception within and between species.
The authors added that the review illustrates the complex genetics of sweet taste preferences and its impact on human nutrition and health. However, they explained that by identifying genes responsible for within- and between-species variation in sweet taste, research can provide tools to better control food acceptance in humans and other animals.
Sweet taste
Dr. Bachmanov and his colleagues explained that the sense of taste has probably evolved to allow animals to choose and consume appropriate food.
For example, the authors said that sugars are important nutrients for animals from many different species ranging from insects to mammals. In animals from many species, sugars are recognized by the taste system and evoke appetitive consummatory responses.
They noted that in addition to sugars, a wide range of other chemicals (such as sweeteners), also evoke the sensation of sweetness in humans and are palatable to many other animals. As such, Bachmanov and his team said that sweet taste is a powerful factor influencing food acceptance.
The reviews said that although appetite responses to sweet taste stimuli are inborn in many animals, they are also often modulated by environment and depend on genetic factors. The interactive mechanisms of sweet taste suggest that it is a part of a complex ingestive behaviour and is likely to be determined by multiple genes, they said
Review details
Bachmanov and his colleagues noted several examples of differences in sweet taste preferences among species of vertebrate animals, adding that many mammals differ in preferences for artificial sweeteners.
Despite nearly universal preference for sugars, the chicken and Felidae species (domestic cat, tiger, lion and cheetah) are not attracted to sugars and other sweeteners, they said.
They reported that variation in the T1R (sweet taste) receptors plays an important role in these differences in sweet taste preferences.
The review also noted that humans differ in their perception of sweet taste: One of the best known examples of this variation is a sweet liking phenotype: in sweet-likers’, hedonic ratings of sucrose solutions monotonously increase with increasing concentrations, while in sweet-dislikers’ at higher sucrose concentrations the ratings decrease said Bachmanov and his co-workers.
They said the mechanisms underlying this variation inhuman sweet taste, including sweet-liker’ and sweet-disliker’ phenotype could be complex and may involve peripheral or central taste processing, could be genetically determined and acquired, or could depend on interaction between genetic and environmental factors.
Nevertheless, genetic factors explain at least part of variation in sweet taste preferences in humans, they said.
What does this mean for franken-food down the road. TBD. But, next time you’re “having a discussion” with someone over the merits of a given meal, remember, it’s just in your genes — and theirs.
Harriett@snoety.com
_____________________________
Source: Flavour and Fragrance Journal
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1002/ffj.2074
Genetics of sweet taste preferences
Authors: A.A Bachmanov, N.P Bosak, W.B. Floriano, M.Inoue, et al
