Factors Influencing the Phenotypic Characterization of the Oral Marker, PROP

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 9; no. 12; p. 1275
• Main Authors: Tepper, Beverly J, Melis, Melania, Koelliker, Yvonne, Gasparini, Paolo, Ahijevych, Karen L, Tomassini Barbarossa, Iole
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 23-11-2017; MDPI
• Subjects: age; Bitter taste; Body composition; Cancer; Eating behavior; Food; Food preferences; Food Preferences - physiology; gender; Gender aspects; Genes; Genetic Variation; Haplotypes; Health risks; Humans; Laboratories; Nutritional status; Perception; Perceptions; Polymorphism; PROP tasting; Propylthiouracil - chemistry; psychophysical approach; Ratings & rankings; Review; Sex differences; Smoking; Taste; Taste perception; Taste Perception - genetics; Taste Perception - physiology; Taste Threshold; Taste thresholds; weight status; weight status; gender; psychophysical approach; PROP tasting; age
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu9121275

In the last several decades, the genetic ability to taste the bitter compound, 6-
-propyltiouracil (PROP) has attracted considerable attention as a model for understanding individual differences in taste perception, and as an oral marker for food preferences and eating behavior that ultimately impacts nutritional status and health. However, some studies do not support this role. This review describes common factors that can influence the characterization of this phenotype including: (1) changes in taste sensitivity with increasing age; (2) gender differences in taste perception; and (3) effects of smoking and obesity. We suggest that attention to these factors during PROP screening could strengthen the associations between this phenotype and a variety of health outcomes ranging from variation in body composition to oral health and cancer risk.