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Updated: Jul 30, 2026
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Measuring Oral Fatty Acid Thresholds, Fat Perception, Fatty Food Liking, and Papillae Density in Humans
Published on: June 4, 2014
PROP taster status and oral fatty acid perception
J A Nasser1, H R Kissileff, C N Boozer
1St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, NY, USA. jnasser@worldnet.att.net
Eating Behaviors
|March 6, 2004
Summary
Genetic ability to taste 6-N-2-propylthiouracil (PROP) enhances human perception of fatty acids in high-fat foods. PROP tasters were significantly better at detecting added fatty acids, suggesting a link between taste genetics and dietary fat discrimination.
Area of Science:
- Sensory Science
- Human Nutrition
- Genetics
Background:
- Polyunsaturated fatty acids may influence dietary fat perception.
- Human fat perception is linked to the genetic ability to taste 6-N-2-propylthiouracil (PROP).
- The relationship between PROP tasting and fatty acid discrimination in complex foods is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if the ability to taste PROP is associated with enhanced oral detection of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in a high-fat food.
- To test the hypothesis linking PROP taster status to fatty acid discrimination.
Main Methods:
- Human subjects participated in a sensory study.
- A difference test was used to compare high-fat vanilla ice cream with and without added CLA.
- Subjects were genotyped as PROP tasters or non-tasters.
Main Results:
- Eighty percent of PROP tasters correctly discriminated the CLA-adulterated ice cream.
- Only 17% of PROP non-tasters correctly identified the difference.
- This difference was statistically significant (Fisher's Exact Test, P=.05).
Conclusions:
- The ability to taste PROP is associated with improved detection of free fatty acids in high-fat foods.
- This suggests a genetic component to human sensitivity to fatty acids in complex food matrices.
- Further research is warranted to explore the role of fatty acids in human fat perception.
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