PTC taste blindness and the taste of caffeine

Hall, Molly J.; Bartoshuk, Linda M.; Cain, William S.; Stevens, Joseph C.

doi:10.1038/253442a0

Cited by 151 publications

(60 citation statements)

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“…The best documented individual differences in human perception of bitter compounds have been found for PROP and PTC (e.g., Bartoshuk et al, 1996;Fischer & Griffin, 1963;Hall et al, 1975;Kemp & Birch, 1992;Thorngate, 1997;Yokomukai et al, 1993). In such studies, subjects are typically divided into two (nontaster and taster) or three (nontaster, taster, and super taster) groups (Reed, Bartoshuk, Duffy, Marino, & Price, 1995).…”

Section: Human Psychophysical Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The best known variation among subjects' sensitivities to bitter chemicals is found for the perception of n-propylthiouracil (PROP), PTC, and other antithyroid compounds that contain the N-C = S chemical group (e.g., Barnicot, Harris, & Kalmus, 1951;Bartoshuk, Duffy, Reed, & Williams, 1996;Fischer & Griffin, 1963;Hall, Bartoshuk, Cain, & Stevens, 1975;Harris & Kalmus, 1949;Kemp & Birch, 1992; Thorngate, 1997;Yokomukai, Cowart, & Beauchamp, 1993), although wide-ranging responses across individuals to other bitter compounds have been found as well (Yokomukai et al, 1993). How strongly one perceives a particular concentration of PROP has not proven to be a reliable indicator of how strongly one perceives particular concentrations of many other bitter substances, including quinine, caffeine, and urea, despite numerous attempts to demonstrate a predictive relationship (Bartoshuk, 1979;Hall et al, 1975;Lawless, 1979;Leach & Noble, 1986;Mela, 1989;Schifferstein & Frijters, 1991;Yokomukai et al, 1993). Although sensitivity to PROP and sensitivity to PTC do not correlate with sensitivity to other bitter compounds, the possibility remains that sensitivity to other bitter compounds will correlate with each other.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Alternatively, such studies have constructed analogs to study a single structure. Similarly, many psychophysical studies on bitterness have limited themselves to one or a few of the following compounds: quinine, caffeine, urea, PTC, and PROP (e.g., Fischer & Griffin, 1963;Hall et al, 1975;Leach & Noble, 1986;Schifferstein & Frijters, 1991). Such limitation makes it difficult to find covariance in perceived intensities across compounds.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Covariation in individuals’ sensitivities to bitter compounds: Evidence supporting multiple receptor/transduction mechanisms

Delwiche

Buletic

Breslin

2001

Perception & Psychophysics

138

100

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People vary widely in their sensitivities to bitter compounds, but the intercorrelation of these sensitivities is unknown. Our goal was to investigate correlations as a function of individual sensitivities to several bitter compounds representative of different chemical classes and, from these correlations, infer the number and variety of potential bitterness transduction systems for these compounds. Twenty-six subjects rated and ranked quinine HCl, caffeine, (-)-epicatechin, tetralone, L-phenylalanine, L-tryptophan, magnesium sulfate, urea, sucrose octaacetate (SOA), denatonium benzoate, and npropylthiouracil (PROP) for bitterness. By examining individual differences, ratings and rankings could be grouped into two general clusters-urea/phenylalanine/tryptophan/epicatechin, and quinine/caffeine/SOA/denatonium benzoate/tetralone/magnesium sulfate-none of which contained PROP. When subjects were grouped into the extremes of sensitivity to PROP, a significant difference was found in the bitterness ratings, but not in the rankings. Therefore, there are also subjects who possess diminished absolute sensitivity to bitter stimuli but do not differ from other subjects in their relative sensitivities to these compounds.

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Section: Human Psychophysical Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Covariation in individuals’ sensitivities to bitter compounds: Evidence supporting multiple receptor/transduction mechanisms

Delwiche

Buletic

Breslin

2001

Perception & Psychophysics

138

100

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“…The sensations sweet2 and bitte^ can be distinguished because they are elicited from posterior oral loci by stimuli distinct from those acting on the front (17,24). Dihydrochalcones are active stimuli for sweet2;and bitter£ sensation is elicited by certain salts like MgS04, and probably various polyphenols.…”

Section: Psychophysics Of Taste Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taste and the Taste of Foods

Oravec

Hoang

et al. 1979

ACS Symposium Series

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In this paper the term taste will refer to all the chemical sensory systems of the oral cavity and their sensations. These sensory systems are intimately involved in the selection of food items and in the regulation of food intake. As we shall see, there are a variety of different taste systems attuned to different chemical aspects of food. These taste systems perform an exact and elaborate analysis of the chemical constituents in the food we eat.The structure and function of these taste systems will be discussed in the context of a natural nutritional ecosystem, i.e. one in which man is not a disruptive element. Human taste systems are assumed to have developed to function in this natural system and to have changed little as a result of the cultural dietary changes that have occurred in the last 10-20,000 years.The natural nutritional ecosystem of man is assumed to be one in which both plant and animal foods are eaten (Figure 1) and they are eaten raw. In a natural nutritional ecosystem, taste serves a primary role in regulating the flow of compounds (_1, 2). Certain things are to be eaten by us. Other things by others. There exists wide variation in the tastes of natural foods. Thus Cott has shown that certain birds and their eggs are both conspicuous and i l l tasting (3, 4). The types of foods we consume now represent a selection from the vast array of items naturally available during our evolutionary development. The chicken egg for instance, represents a selection of one of the best tasting eggs naturally available (Figure 2).We consume and transform plant and animal substances to promote certain physiological activities (the probable role of taste in mammalian sexual behavior is not considered here). Primary among these physiological functions is the replacement of body compounds and the supply of compounds for metabolic energy systems. Thus taste serves to regulate the consumption of needed compounds. Almost without exception, natural things that taste good are good for you and foods that are needed taste good even though your stomach is full. Toxic compounds almost 0-8412-0526-4/79/47-115-001$08.00/0

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“…The sweet compounds include sucrose (Gent & Bartoshuk, 1983), the sweet taste of saccharin (Bartoshuk, 1979), glucose , and neohesperidin dihydrochalcone (Gent & Bartoshuk, 1983). The bitter compounds include caffeine (Hall, Bartoshuk, Cain, & Stevens, 1975), KCI (Bartoshuk, Rifkin, Marks, & Hooper, 1988), CaCl 2 , and the bitter taste of saccharin (Bartoshuk, 1979).…”

Section: Variation In Sensory Experiencementioning

confidence: 99%

Sensory factors in eating behavior

Bartoshuk

1991

Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society

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Before foods or fluids can affect behavior, they must be sensed. Olfaction, touch, temperature, and pain (e.g., chili peppers) are all sensations associated with food. Taste appears to be tuned to nutrients. Sugars are sweet, NaCI is salty, and many poisons are bitter. Olfaction, on the other hand, appears to be organized to identify foods holistically (e.g., bacon, pizza, peanut butter, etc.) rather than to identify the nutrients within them. The roles of the other senses in food perception are less clear. Some differences in the ability to taste and smell are genetic, age changes taste and smell differentially (age affects smell much more than taste), and pathology, disease, and treatments for disease may affect taste and smell. Species differences in taste and smell place limitations on animal models. Sensory studies have an important role in studies of eating behavior. MODALITIES THAT SENSE FOODAll of the sensory modalities contribute to our appreciation of foods and beverages. Vision contributes via the appearance of foods and audition contributes via the sounds (e.g., crunchiness) associated with some foods; however, these sensations do not arise from contact with the oral and nasal cavities. The sensory qualities evoked by contact with foods and beverages are taste, olfaction, touch, temperature, and pain. The roles of these modalities are sometimes misunderstood partly because we lack appropriate names for the sensations. For example, when food is placed in the mouth, it contacts the tongue and the roof of the mouth, evoking taste sensations from gustatory receptors. The volatiles from the food travel inside the mouth, up the rear of the oral cavity into the nasal cavity, and contact the olfactory receptors. The combination of taste and olfaction is called flavor. Since taste and smell are both stimulated during eating, we should not say we "taste" food; rather, we should say that we "flavor" food. Note, however, that the wrong meaning is conveyed. To flavor food means to add flavor to food. There is no verb that means to perceive flavor in food. This is probably not just a linguistic oversight. There are sensory reasons, to be discussed below, why we use the word taste to convey the perception of flavor. The individual modalities are discussed below. TemperatureThermal receptors in the oral cavity contribute to the perception of foods. One function of the thermal sensations is to protect the oral cavity from thermal damage, but thermal sensations obviously playa more complex role in our appreciation of foods. For example, Cines and

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PTC taste blindness and the taste of caffeine

Cited by 151 publications

References 13 publications

Covariation in individuals’ sensitivities to bitter compounds: Evidence supporting multiple receptor/transduction mechanisms

Covariation in individuals’ sensitivities to bitter compounds: Evidence supporting multiple receptor/transduction mechanisms

Taste and the Taste of Foods

Sensory factors in eating behavior

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