Available online 10 March 2024, 109619

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Gustin, a trophic factor for taste bud development, and its polymorphism at rs2274333 influence taste perception of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) and fungiform papillae (FP) density. The PROP taster status affects dietary fat sensing and body composition. However, there is a paucity of research on the gustin genotype with dietary fat perception, PROP tasting ability, and body mass index (BMI). Thus, taste sensitivity to fat and bitterness was evaluated in 178 healthy individuals. The general labelled magnitude scale was used to determine suprathreshold taste intensity ratings, whereas the alternative forced choice approach was used to estimate the taste-sensing ability. The FP density was assessed by applying blue-coloured food dye over the anterior region of the tongue. Restriction fragment length polymorphism was used to detect the genetic polymorphism (rs2274333) in the CA-VI gene. Fisher's chi-square analysis showed that the CA-VI genotype and allelic frequencies significantly correlated (p<0.001) with the PROP taster status and BMI. Healthy individuals with AA genotypes of the CA-VI polymorphism and PROP super-tasters demonstrated stronger gustatory sensitivity for linoleic acid (LA) with greater FP density in comparison to individuals with AG/GG genotypes and other PROP taster groups. Stepwise forward multiple regression analysis indicates that BMI and PROP taster status significantly influence the LA sensing ability. The suprathreshold intensity rating for LA was also significantly impacted by PROP taster status and CA-VI genotypes, with a variation of 73.3%. Overall, our findings show a relationship between the taste papillae environment and the CA-VI genetic mutation at rs2274333, which influenced the gustatory preference for dietary fat and bitter taste.

Section snippetsINTRODUCTION

Dietary risks were to blame for 11 million deaths worldwide in 2017 [1]. Food intake was driven by food preference, a complex feature impacted by both hereditary and environmental variables [2]. Accordingly, food selection and satiety are significantly influenced by taste perception and preference, which differ greatly between individuals [3,4]. Numerous studies have been conducted since the early 1900s on the bitter taste of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP), a marker for dietary habits and food

Study participants

The study included 178 healthy adults (Cochran representative sample method with 50% prevalence, 95% confidence interval, and 7.5% error rate) aged 18-35 from Bharathiar University, GEM hospital and surrounding areas (Simple randomized method). Participants' body mass index (BMI) was calculated by dividing their weight in kilogrammes by their height in metres squared (Kg/m2). The study procedures were authorized by the university's ethics committee (Proposal No. BUHEC/035/2021, Dated:

Taste detection by BMI category

The study participants were divided into three groups according to their BMI: normal (BMI 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2), overweight (BMI 25 to 29.9 kg/m2), and obese (BMI >30 kg/m2) [37]. The average BMIs for each group were 23.05 ± 0.21 kg/m2 for normal, 27.84 ± 0.17 kg/m2 for overweight, and 37.10 ± 0.55 kg/m2 for obese people. The obese group's papillae density per square centimetre (PD/cm2) was significantly (p<0.001) lower than that of the other two groups (table 1). Additionally, the study found

DISCUSSION

Numerous studies have revealed a significant relationship between the CA-VI genotype, papillae density, PROP tasting ability, and fat taste sensitivity. According to a review by Tepper, Banni [5], the interaction of PROP with gustin and papillae density in body weight may offer researchers vital new information on how taste sensitivity influences eating habits and health. As a result, our study uses forward multiple regression modelling to analyse the aforementioned factors and predict LA

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that CA-VI genotypes and PROP sensing abilities may be able to predict LA phenotypes. The findings, therefore, corroborate the hypothesis that the CA-VI genotype, which also affects LA sensing through tongue papillae density, maybe the underlying factor in obesity (Fig. 5). Thus, it is promising that gustin will be taken into account in the future together with LA and PROP in mechanistic downstream studies of fat and bitter taste signaling in taste bud cells. Additionally,

Funding Sources

The work was supported by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - Senior Research Fellowship (No. 3/1/2/231/2021-Nut), ICMR Ad-hoc project (5/9/1222/2019-Nut) and Tamilnadu State Council for Higher Education (TANSCHE) research grant project (RGP/2019-20/BU/HECP-0014), India. The funding resources had no role in the study design or in publishing the article.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Gowtham Subramanian: Methodology, Investigation, Data curation, Formal analysis, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Funding acquisition. Vinithra Ponnusamy: Data curation, Resources. Keerthana Vasanthakumar: Resources, Visualization. Prabha Panneerselvan: Resources, Visualization. Vasanth Krishnan: Validation, Writing – review & editing. Selvakumar Subramaniam: Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing – review & editing, Funding acquisition.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement

The project students Ms. M. S. Lekshmi and Ms. K. Megavarsha helped the authors by assisting with participant recruitment and sample collection for the study.

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