RESUMEN
Genetic sensitivity to the bitter taste of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) has been linked with a greater number of food aversions and reported rejection of some bitter foods. Healthy young women (n = 121) were divided into nontasters, tasters and supertasters of PROP according to their PROP detection thresholds and the ratio of intensity ratings of PROP versus NaCl solutions. Hedonic response profiles to sucrose solutions distinguished between likers and dislikers of sweet. All subjects completed a 171-item food preference checklist. Food preference data were reduced by factor analyses, subscales of which were tested for reliability using Cronbach's alpha. Greater PROP sensitivity was associated with lower acceptance of coffee, cruciferous vegetables, tart citrus fruit, dark breads, and selected fats. In contrast, liking for sucrose solutions was linked to liking for sugar in tea and coffee, but not to any special pattern of food acceptance. Strategies aimed at increasing the consumption of grains, vegetables, and fruit should consider the role of inherited taste makers and their potential impact on dietary habits.
Asunto(s)
Preferencias Alimentarias/fisiología , Trastornos del Gusto/diagnóstico , Gusto/fisiología , Adulto , Factores de Edad , Femenino , Humanos , Persona de Mediana Edad , Propiltiouracilo , Sacarosa , Umbral GustativoRESUMEN
Genetic sensitivity to 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) has been reported to predict hedonic response to sweet taste in both women and men. This study was based on a sample of 159 women of different ethnic backgrounds, mean age 27.0 years, and mean body mass index (BMI) 23.2. The women were classified as nontasters (n = 43), regular tasters (n = 70), or supertasters (n = 46) of PROP on the basis of their PROP detection thresholds and the scaling of 5 suprathreshold solutions of PROP and NaCl. Nontasters had thresholds > 1.8 x 10(-4) mol/L PROP and PROP/NaCl ratios < 1.60. Supertasters had thresholds < 3.2 x 10(-5) mol/L PROP and PROP/NaCl ratios > 1.60. Genetic sensitivity to PROP failed to predict sweetness intensity ratings or hedonic response profiles for sucrose solutions. Separating subjects into sucrose "likers" and "dislikers" failed to reveal any significant links to PROP nontaster, taster, or supertaster status in this all-female sample.
Asunto(s)
Antimetabolitos/farmacología , Propiltiouracilo/farmacología , Sacarosa/farmacología , Gusto/efectos de los fármacos , Adulto , Femenino , Humanos , Persona de Mediana Edad , Filosofía , Umbral Sensorial/fisiología , Gusto/fisiologíaRESUMEN
Increased consumption of vegetables and fruit has long been the focus of dietary strategies for disease prevention. Some vegetables and fruit have bitter tastes, which can be aversive to consumers, particularly children. The present study tested the hypothesis that acceptance of grapefruit juice is influenced, in part, by sensitivity to the bitter taste of 6-n-propylthiouracil (Prop), a heritable trait. A sample of 123 women, mean age 28 y, was divided into nontasters (n = 39), tasters (n = 49), and supertasters (n = 35) of Prop by using procedures validated previously based on Prop detection thresholds and on intensity scaling of five suprathreshold solutions of Prop and sodium chloride. The subjects tasted and rated five solutions of the bioflavonoid naringin in 4% sucrose. Naringin, the principal bitter ingredient of grapefruit juice, has been implicated in the regulation of cytochrome P-450 enzymes. Increased taste acuity for both Prop and naringin was associated with greater dislike for each bitter compound. Prop supertasters disliked bitter naringin solutions significantly more than did either tasters or nontasters. Prop sensitivity was also associated with reduced acceptability of grapefruit juice. Acceptability of orange juice, which does not contain naringin, was unrelated to Prop taster status. Is the acceptability of other bitter vegetables and fruit also limited by inherited taste factors? If so, then genetic taste markers might limit dietary exposure to valuable dietary constituents and pose a barrier to current strategies for dietary change.
Asunto(s)
Bebidas , Citrus , Flavanonas , Flavonoides/administración & dosificación , Propiltiouracilo/farmacología , Gusto/genética , Adulto , Sistema Enzimático del Citocromo P-450/metabolismo , Femenino , Preferencias Alimentarias , Humanos , Persona de Mediana EdadRESUMEN
Relatively high intakes of vegetables and fruit and relatively low intakes of fat are associated with lower rates of heart disease and many types of cancer. Biomarkers for vegetable and fruit consumption are most useful when applicable across different ages, body weights, diets, and varying patterns of fat intake. This study examined two biomarkers, serum concentrations of beta-carotene and vitamin C, as a function of anthropometric, dietary, and lifestyle factors in a community-based sample of French adults. The interview-based dietary-history method was used to assess dietary intakes of 361 males and 476 females aged 18-94 y resident in the Val-de-Marne district southeast of Paris. Serum beta-carotene was quantified by HPLC and vitamin C was measured by using an automated method. Serum beta-carotene and vitamin C concentrations were positively associated with vegetable and fruit intakes and were negatively linked to the consumption of energy, alcohol, and fat. Multiple-regression analyses showed that serum beta-carotene concentration was predicted by fruit and vegetable intakes but was inversely associated with body mass, energy and alcohol intakes, and tobacco use. Serum vitamin C concentration was positively associated with fruit consumption but was negatively associated with age, body mass, and tobacco use. Serum beta-carotene and vitamin C concentrations are useful biomarkers of vegetable and fruit consumption in the French diet. However, other dietary and lifestyle factors also have a significant effect on circulating concentrations of these antioxidant micronutrients.
Asunto(s)
Ácido Ascórbico/sangre , Dieta , Frutas/normas , Verduras/normas , beta Caroteno/sangre , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Envejecimiento/sangre , Envejecimiento/fisiología , Antropometría , Ácido Ascórbico/análisis , Biomarcadores/análisis , Biomarcadores/sangre , Índice de Masa Corporal , Colesterol/sangre , Cromatografía Líquida de Alta Presión/métodos , Grasas de la Dieta/farmacología , Ingestión de Alimentos/fisiología , Femenino , Francia , Frutas/química , Humanos , Estilo de Vida , Masculino , Micronutrientes/análisis , Persona de Mediana Edad , Análisis de Regresión , Verduras/química , beta Caroteno/análisisRESUMEN
Genetically mediated sensitivity to the bitter taste of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) has been associated with greater acuity for bitter and for some sweet tastes. Thus far, few studies have explored the relationship between PROP taste sensitivity and hedonic responses to bitter and sweet. In this study, 87 normal-weight young women were divided into PROP non-tasters (n = 18), regular tasters (n = 49), and supertasters (n = 20), based on their PROP detection thresholds and the scaling of five suprathreshold solutions of PROP and NaCl. Non-tasters had thresholds > 1.8 x 10(-4) mol/l PROP. Supertasters had thresholds < 3.2 x 10(-5) mol/l PROP and PROP/NaCl ratios > 1.70. As expected, dislike of the bitter taste of PROP was determined by its perceived intensity, which was greater among supertasters than among regular tasters or non-tasters. Significant correlations were observed between PROP taste thresholds and the sum of intensity ratings (r = -0.61) and between summed intensity and summed hedonic ratings (r = -0.80). PROP taste sensitivity was weakly linked to enhanced perception of sweet taste, but did not predict hedonic responses to sucrose or to saccharin solutions. Given that the dislike of PROP solutions is determined by their perceived intensity, hedonic responses to PROP solutions may provide a rapid way of screening for PROP taster status.
Asunto(s)
Propiltiouracilo/química , Gusto/genética , Análisis Factorial , Femenino , Humanos , Fenotipo , Cloruro de Sodio/química , Sacarosa/química , Gusto/fisiología , Umbral Gustativo/fisiologíaRESUMEN
Guidelines for a healthy diet often recommend limiting dietary sugars and fats. Some researchers have called these aims mutually incompatible, suggesting that fat and sugar intakes, when expressed as percent dietary energy, are inversely linked. Others have argued that sugar, more specifically sucrose, acts as a vehicle for dietary fat and serves to suppress the overall quality of the diet. This study examined the relationship between age, sucrose and fat intakes, body mass index (BMI), and measures of dietary diversity and variety in a community-based sample of 837 French adults. Consistent with other studies, high consumption of added sucrose (in g/day or g/1000 kcal per day) was associated with higher consumption of energy and fat and lower consumption of vegetables and fruit. However, eating patterns were strongly influenced by age. High-sucrose consumers were significantly younger and had lower BMI values than did low-sucrose consumers, who were both older and had higher BMIs. High-sucrose diets had minimal effect on the diet diversity score and were associated with more varied diets, as evidenced by a higher dietary variety score.
Asunto(s)
Envejecimiento , Dieta , Grasas de la Dieta/administración & dosificación , Sacarosa en la Dieta/administración & dosificación , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Índice de Masa Corporal , Ingestión de Energía , Femenino , Francia , Frutas , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Análisis de Regresión , VerdurasRESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: Assessing the quality of the total diet is a relatively new focus of studies in nutritional epidemiology. New indexes of healthful eating patterns have been largely limited to US populations. This study used evaluative criteria developed in the United States to assess diet quality and dietary diversity of French adults. METHODS: Habitual dietary intakes of a representative sample of 837 adults (361 men and 476 women) in the Val-de-Marne Dèpartement were evaluated. Evaluative measures of diet quality included a modified diet quality index (DQI), a dietary diversity (DD) score, and a dietary variety score (DVS). The 5-point DQI assessed compliance with the key guidelines of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for healthy people. The DD score counted the number of major food groups consumed whereas the DVS counted the total number of foods consumed on a regular basis. RESULTS: Few French adults consumed diets consistent with the USDA dietary recommendations. Only 14% of respondents derived less than 30% of energy from fat and only 4% derived less than 10% of energy from saturated fat. As a result, 63% of the sample had DQI scores of either 0 or I. In contrast, close to 90% of respondents scored a maximum of 5 in DD. Persons whose diets met US dietary recommendations also had the lowest DVSs. CONCLUSIONS: Methodologic factors and cultural biases may account for some of the observed differences between French and US data. Nevertheless, studies of diet quality and diversity are a promising new approach to the study of the total diet and associated health outcomes and may provide new insight into the French paradox.
Asunto(s)
Encuestas sobre Dietas , Dieta/normas , Adolescente , Adulto , Factores de Edad , Anciano , Grasas de la Dieta/administración & dosificación , Ingestión de Energía , Conducta Alimentaria , Femenino , Francia , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Política Nutricional , Factores Sexuales , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
A computerized micro-ELISA system is described which features rapid and simple procedures for sample storage and transfer, plate washing and calculation of results. Calculations are performed by a Commodore Pet desk computer interfaced with a Titertek Multiskan micro-ELISA plate reader. Up to 1200 analyses per day can be performed by one person. Its application to the measurement of total immunoglobulin isotype and class specific antibody to parainfluenza type 1 (Sendai virus) in mice is described.