Strong sensitivity to bitter tastes tied to higher cancer risk

发布时间：2020-11-20 08:22:35来源：肿瘤免疫细胞治疗资讯

Newresearchsuggeststhataraisedsensitivitytobittertastesmightbeagoodpredictorforcancerriskinwomen.

新的研究表明，对苦味的敏感程度提高可能是女性患癌症风险的一个很好的预测因子。

ItwasconductedbyresearchersattheCollegeofAgriculturalSciencesofPennsylvaniaStateUniversityinStateCollegealongsideateamfromLeedsUniversityintheUnitedKingdom.

LeadresearcherJoshuaLambertandhisteamanalyzedthedatarelatedtolifestyleanddietfactorsandhealthhistoryof5,500Britishwomenover20years.

Thescientistslookedathowawoman’sabilitytotastephenylthiocarbamide(PTC),whichisachemicalthatcanbeperceivedaseitherextremelybitterorcompletelytastelessdependingonaperson’ssensitivitytobitterflavors,caninfluencecancerrisk.

LambertandcolleaguesalsoconsideredtheimpactofgeneticvariantsencodingthetastereceptorTAS2R38,whichbindstoPTC,allowinganindividualtoperceiveitstaste.

Thefindings,whicharenowpublishedintheEuropeanJournalofNutrition,suggestthatthereisalinkbetweenanincreasedabilitytotastebitternessandawoman’sriskofdevelopingcancer.

‘Striking’differencesintermsofcancerrisk

TheycollectedmostoftheirdataviatheUKWomen’sCohortStudy,whichwasfoundedin1995byresearchersatLeedsUniversity,andwhichhasbeengatheringinformationaboutpotentiallinksbetweenchronicdiseases—particularlycancer—andtheimpactofdietaryfactors.

Specifically,Lambertandteamstartedfromthepremisethatwomenwithahighsensitivitytobittertasteswouldeatfewervegetablesandbeexposedtohighercancerincidence.

Inanalyzingthedata,thescientistssplitthewomenintothreegroups,dependingontheirabilitytorespondtothebitternessofPTC:“super-tasters,”“tasters,”and“non-tasters.”

Theyfoundthat“super-tasters”and“tasters”were,infact,athigherriskofcancercomparedwithwomenwhocouldnottastethebitternessofPTC.However,theydidnotobserveasignificantcorrelationwiththeamountofvegetablesconsumedbythewomenineachgroup.

“Thedifferenceincancerincidencebetweenthewomenwiththehighestbitter-tastesensitivityandthosewiththelowestwasstriking,”saysLambert.“Super-tastershadabouta58percenthigherriskofcancerincidence,”heexplains,“andthetastershadabouta40percenthigherriskofdevelopingcancer,comparedtowomenwhowereclassifiedasnon-tasters.”

Whilethisconfirmedpartoftheinvestigators’workinghypothesis,theyweresurprisedtofindthatwhetherornotthewomenweresensitivetobitterflavorshadnothingtodowiththeirlong-termdietarypreferences.

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