If you have an aversion to the bitter taste of grapefruit, cabbage, broccoli and even alcohol, you might be a 'super-taster,' and you're not alone – as many as one in four people have the genetic code that triggers this sensitivity. But scientists have now found that it's also linked to poor health outcomes, including chronic kidney disease and bipolar disorder..

如果你对葡萄柚、卷心菜、西兰花甚至酒精的苦味有厌恶感，你可能是“超级品尝者”，而且你并不孤单——多达四分之一的人拥有触发这种敏感性的基因编码。但科学家现在已经发现，这种敏感性还与不良健康结果相关，包括慢性肾病和双相情感障碍。

Researchers from the University of Queensland, led by Daniel Hwang from the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, have uncovered a surprising link between those who have two functional copies of the

昆士兰大学的研究人员，在分子生物科学研究所的黄丹尼尔的带领下，发现了拥有两个功能拷贝基因的人之间令人惊讶的联系，

TAS2R38

TAS2R38

gene and the likelihood of poor renal function and/or the prevalence of bipolar disorder.

基因与肾功能不良和/或双相情感障碍患病率的可能性。

We all have two copies of the bitter-taste gene, one from each parent, but only around 20-25% of the population has both of these as 'functional' DNA. And within this group, the researchers identified three tiny mutations – known as single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) – that increased one's chances of being impacted by the kidney and mental health conditions..

我们都有两个苦味基因拷贝，一个来自父母双方，但只有大约20-25%的人口拥有两个‘功能性’DNA。在这群人中，研究人员发现了三个微小的突变——称为单核苷酸多态性（SNPs）——这些突变增加了受到肾脏和心理健康状况影响的可能性。

“

“

TAS2R38

TAS2R38

controls how strongly we taste bitterness in foods such as broccoli and brussels sprouts – making them taste extremely bitter to some people,’’ Hwang said. “If you carry two copies of the gene, you’re highly sensitive to bitter-tasting chemical compounds phenylthiocarbamide and propylthiouracil.’’

“控制我们对西兰花和布鲁塞尔豆芽等食物中苦味的感知程度——使它们对某些人来说味道极其苦涩，”黄说。“如果你携带该基因的两个副本，你对苯硫脲和丙基硫尿嘧啶等苦味化合物高度敏感。”

Key findings from the literature on the association between

文献中关于关联性的主要发现

TAS2R38

TAS2R38

genotype and phenylthiocarbamide/propylthiouracil taste perception and dietary behavior

基因型和苯硫脲/丙基硫尿嘧啶味觉感知与饮食行为

Hwang et al/

黄等人/

European Journal of Nutrition

欧洲营养学杂志

/(

/(

CC By 4.0

知识共享署名4.0国际许可协议

)

)

These bitter taste receptors (known as TAS2Rs) can be found throughout the body, in the lungs, gut, urinary tract and mouth. There's an evolutionary reason behind why they've been conserved – bitterness is often a key hallmark of poison, so avoiding bitter-tasting food acts as a built-in safety system.

这些苦味受体（称为TAS2Rs）可以在全身多个部位找到，包括肺部、肠道、泌尿道和口腔。它们得以保留有其进化方面的原因——苦味往往是毒药的一个重要标志，因此避免食用苦味食物充当了内置的安全系统。

And recently, .

而且最近，。

new research uncovered

新研究揭示

how these bitter taste receptors – of which around 25 different ones have been identified – may actually play a role in healthy aging.

这些苦味受体——其中大约25种不同的受体已被确认——实际上可能在健康衰老中发挥作用。

'The

‘这

TAS2R38

TAS2R38

genotype has been linked to the risk of several chronic conditions, such as obesity, cardiometabolic diseases, and colorectal cancer, potentially through its influence on dietary intake,' the researchers noted in the study. 'TAS2Rs are expressed in extra-oral organs and tissues, including the stomach, kidney, respiratory tract, heart, placenta and brain, suggesting their potential functions other than taste perception.'.

研究人员在研究中指出：“基因型与多种慢性疾病的风险有关，例如肥胖、心代谢疾病和结直肠癌，这可能通过其对饮食摄入的影响而实现。TAS2Rs 在口腔外的器官和组织中也有表达，包括胃、肾、呼吸道、心脏、胎盘和大脑，表明它们除了味觉感知之外的潜在功能。”

Investigating this, the researchers focused their work on these three 'variants of interest' within functioning pairs of

在研究这一问题时，研究人员将工作重点放在了功能对中的这三个“感兴趣变体”上。

TAS2R38

TAS2R38

genes, using a sample size of 445,779 individuals from the UK Biobank aged between 37 and 73, and a further 161,625 people who were part of large-scale genome-wide associations studies (GWAS).

基因，使用来自英国生物银行的445,779名年龄在37至73岁之间的个体样本，以及另外161,625名参与大规模全基因组关联研究（GWAS）的人员。

'The strongest association in the phenome-wide exploratory analysis was with bipolar disorder, with the bitter sensitive alleles being associated with a 10% increase in the odds of having this condition in a study of 7,647 cases and 27,303 controls,' the researchers noted. 'The second strongest association in the exploratory analysis was between the bitter sensitive alleles and higher serum creatinine levels, a biomarker of renal toxicity and poor kidney function.

“在全表型组范围的探索性分析中，最强的关联是与双相情感障碍，苦味敏感等位基因与在7647例病例和27303例对照的研究中该疾病发生几率增加10%相关，”研究人员指出。“在探索性分析中第二强的关联是苦味敏感等位基因与较高血清肌酐水平之间的关联，这是肾毒性和肾功能不良的生物标志物。

Notably, the bitter sensitive alleles were also nominally associated with chronic kidney diseases and a range of markers of kidney health, including urinary proline betaine levels, glomerular filtration rate, serum non-albumin protein, and glucose levels 2 h after an oral glucose challenge.'.

值得注意的是，苦味敏感等位基因还与慢性肾病及一系列肾脏健康指标存在名义上的关联，这些指标包括尿脯氨酸甜菜碱水平、肾小球滤过率、血清非白蛋白蛋白以及口服葡萄糖挑战后2小时的血糖水平。

The team identified how people with functional

团队确定了有功能性障碍的人如何

TAS2R38

TAS2R38

genes generally consumed less alcohol (spirits and red wine, in particular) and foods like grapefruit, and had a higher intake of tea, melon and cucumber in their diet.

基因通常消耗较少的酒精（尤其是烈酒和红葡萄酒）以及像葡萄柚这样的食物，而在他们的饮食中茶、瓜类和黄瓜的摄入量较高。

“People with the gene are more sensitive to salty tastes – they are less likely to add extra salt because foods are already salty enough,’’ Hwang said. “But interestingly, they enjoy foods that are moderately salty and end up eating more salt overall, which could impact kidney function over time.”

“拥有该基因的人对咸味更敏感——他们不太可能额外加盐，因为食物已经足够咸了，”黄说。“但有趣的是，他们喜欢中等咸度的食物，最终整体摄入更多盐分，这可能会对肾功能产生影响。”

Food choices, based on taste-receptor influences, then impact the makeup of the gut's microbiome – and the researchers found that people with the TAS2R38 gene had a lower incidence of gut problems.

基于味觉受体影响的食物选择会影响肠道微生物组的构成，研究人员发现，携带 TAS2R38 基因的人群肠道问题的发生率较低。

“We found that people with this gene have more

“我们发现拥有这种基因的人更多

Parabacteroides

普氏菌属

– a type of bacteria that’s actually linked to better gut health and lower inflammation,” said Hwang, who has been

——一种实际上与更好的肠道健康和更低的炎症相关的细菌，”黄说，他一直

studying super-tasters and health

研究超级品尝者与健康

for some time.

一段时间。

While the scientists were able to determine this relationship based on what is known about diet and the gut's microbial diversity, less clear is the link between an aversion to bitter foods and the increased risk of bipolar disorder. However, the study has flagged that there may indeed be a strong genetic link here, which could help inform treatment strategies for those with mood disorders..

虽然科学家们能够根据已知的饮食和肠道微生物多样性来确定这种关系，但对苦味食物的厌恶与双相情感障碍风险增加之间的联系尚不明确。然而，这项研究已经指出，这里可能确实存在很强的遗传联系，这有助于为情绪障碍患者提供治疗策略的信息。

The study doesn't, however, prove causation – but this link adds to the growing body of evidence that such bitter taste receptors have more complex biological impacts than simply helping hunter-gatherer humans avoid potential plant toxins.

然而，这项研究并没有证明因果关系——但这种联系增加了越来越多的证据，表明这些苦味受体具有比帮助狩猎采集者避免潜在植物毒素更复杂的生物影响。

“This information will be useful in designing more personalized nutrition plans,” Hwang said. “While more work is needed, the study provides new research directions for understanding this bitter taster receptor gene in human health.'

“这一信息将有助于设计更加个性化的营养计划，”黄说。“尽管还需要进行更多的研究，但这项研究为理解这种苦味受体基因在人类健康中的作用提供了新的研究方向。”

The study was published in the

该研究发表在

European Journal of Nutrition

欧洲营养学杂志

.

。

Source:

源代码：

University of Queensland

昆士兰大学