Bitter Taste Perception in BaYaka Hunter-Gatherers

This study examined variation in bitter taste perception among BaYaka hunter-gatherers from the Republic of Congo, comparing individuals from the same population that were born and grew up in a forest ecology to those from a logging town.

Bitter-tasting phenotype was assessed in 112 BaYaka individuals using a paper-strip taste-detection task with single-concentration strips of phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and thiourea (thiocarbamide). Participants were grouped by the place where they were born and grew up: forest camps or the town. Logistic regression was used to test associations between location, sex, age, and bitter taste perception.

Town-born individuals were more likely to perceive both compounds as bitter than forest-born individuals (PTC: OR = 3.93, 95% CI: 1.75-9.17, p < 0.01; thiourea: OR = 4.44, 95% CI: 1.97-10.42, p < 0.01). No significant associations were found between bitter taste perception and sex or age.

Bitter-tasting phenotype differed among BaYaka individuals, with higher proportions of bitter tasters among those born and raised in town compared to those from forest camps. These results suggest that early-life ecological context may contribute towards variation in bitter taste perception, which we hypothesize might be due to differences in exposure to bitter wild plant compounds.