Variation in the TAS2R31 bitter taste receptor gene relates to liking for the nonnutritive sweetener Acesulfame-K among children and adults

Nuala Bobowski, Danielle R Reed, Julie A Mennella, Nuala Bobowski, Danielle R Reed, Julie A Mennella

Abstract

The nonnutritive sweetener (NNS) acesulfame potassium (Ace-K) elicits a bitter off-taste that varies among adults due to polymorphisms in a bitter taste receptor gene. Whether polymorphisms affect liking for Ace-K by children, who live in different sensory worlds, is unknown. We examined hedonic response to Ace-K among children compared to adults, and whether response was related to common variants of the TAS2R31 bitter taste receptor gene and to NNS intake. Children (N = 48) and their mothers (N = 34) rated liking of Ace-K, and mothers reported whether they or their children ever consume NNSs via questionnaire. Participants were genotyped for TAS2R31 variant sites associated with adult perception of Ace-K (R35W, L162M, A227V, and V240I). Regardless of age, more participants with 1 or no copies than with 2 copies of the TAS2R31 WMVI haplotype liked Ace-K (p = 0.01). NNS-sweetened products were consumed by 50% and 15% of mothers and children, respectively, with no association between intake and TAS2R31. The TAS2R31 WMVI haplotype was partly responsible for children's hedonic response to Ace-K, highlighting a potential role for inborn differences in vulnerability to overconsumption of Ace-K-containing products. Currently available methods to measure NNS intake yield crude estimates at best, suggesting self-reports are not reflective of actual intake.

Figures

Figure 1. Relation between number of TAS2R31…
Figure 1. Relation between number of TAS2R31 WMVI alleles and hedonics of Ace-K.
More participants with 2 (n = 9) alleles indicated 0.012 M Ace-K had a bad taste on the 3-point facial hedonic scale than did those with 1 (n = 41) or no (n = 17) alleles (Yates’s χ2 = 12.2, p < 0.01).
Figure 2. Relation between TAS2R38 genotype and…
Figure 2. Relation between TAS2R38 genotype and hedonics of PROP.
More participants with the bitter-sensitive PP genotype (n = 17) indicated 56 μM PROP had a bad taste on the 3-point facial hedonic scale than did AP (n = 31) or AA (n = 19) participants (Yates’s χ2 = 8.5, p < 0.01).
Figure 3. Variants of the bitter receptor…
Figure 3. Variants of the bitter receptor genes TAS2R31 and TAS2R38.
Boxes denote variant sites, e.g., TAS2R31 R35W indicates the location in the peptide (position 35) where arginine (R) is replaced by tryptophan (W). Non- or less functional genotypes are in blue whereas functional genotypes are in red.

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