Nontasters, Tasters, and Supertasters of 6- n-Propylthiouracil (PROP) and Hedonic Response to Sweet

Drewnowski, A., S. Ahlstrom Henderson, A. B. Shore and A. Barratt-Fornell. Nontasters, tasters, and supertasters of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) and hedonic response to sweet. Physiol Behav 62(3) 649–655, 1997.—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 × 10 −4 mol/L PROP and PROP/NaCl ratios < 1.60. Supertasters had thresholds < 3.2 × 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.