Journal
APPETITE
Volume 75, Issue -, Pages 1-10Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2013.11.020
Keywords
Liking; Food neophobia; Pungency; Sourness; Heritability; Linkage
Categories
Funding
- University of Helsinki funds
- Finnish Food Research Foundation
- Academy of Finland [100499, 205585, 266592]
- Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in Complex Disease Genetics
- DIOGENES (Diet, Obesity and Genes)
- EU [FP6-513946]
- Academy of Finland (AKA) [205585, 205585] Funding Source: Academy of Finland (AKA)
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Subgroups based on flavor preferences were identified and their genetic and behavior related characteristics investigated using extensive data from 331 Finnish twins (21-25 years, 146 men) including 47 monozygotic (MZ) and 93 dizygotic (DZ) pairs, and 51 twin individuals. The subgroup identification (hierarchical and K-means clustering) was based on liking responses to food names representing sour, umami, and spicy flavor qualities. Furthermore, sensory tests were conducted, a questionnaire on food likes completed, and various eating behavior related traits measured with validated scales. Sensory data included intensity ratings of PROP (6-n-propylthiouracil-impregnated filter paper), hedonic and intensity responses to sourness (orange juice with and without added citric acid, 0.42%), pungency (strawberry jelly with and without added capsaicin 0.00013%) and umami ('mouthfeel flavor' taste solution). Ratings of liking of 41 general food names were categorized into salty-and-fatty, sweet-and-fatty, fruits and vegetables and fish foods. Subgroup differences (complex samples procedure) and the genetics underlying the subgroups (structural equation modeling) were investigated. Of the resulting two groups (basic, n = 140, adventurous n = 152; non-grouped n = 39), the adventurous expressed higher liking for sour and spicy foods, and had more tolerance for capsaicin burn in the sensory-hedonic test. The adventurous were also less food neophobic (25.9 +/- 9.1 vs. 32.5 +/- 10.6, respectively) and expressed higher liking for fruits and vegetables compared to the basic group. Genetic effects were shown to underlie the subgroups (heritability 72%, CI: 36-92%). Linkage analysis for 27 candidate gene regions revealed suggestively that being adventurous is linked to TAS1R1 and PKD1L3 genes. These results indicate that food neophobia and genetic differences may form a barrier through which individual flavor preferences are generated. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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