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Chinese aversion to bitterness traced to ancient gene
By Dong Zhen |
June 22, 2011, Wednesday
|
Online Edition
Online Edition
Chinese people are genetically much more sensitive to the bitter taste compared to other races and their inherited gene explains more diversified food choices that those on the table of Westerners, a new scientific finding revealed.
Li Hui, a Shanghai Fudan University professor and a renowned Chinese anthropologist, announced his finding after his team completed a research into the taste genes of the Chinese people.
The US magazine, Human Biology, published Li's paper in its June issue.
Li said the finding explained why some vegetables Westerners like, such as broccoli and Brussels sprout, are frowned on by many Chinese. It's because the tongue of a Chinese can detect the slight bitterness of these vegetables.
The research found the average Chinese has a gene more sensitive to bitter taste, named TAS2R16. This gene was enhanced incidentally by a massive famine in China about 5,000 to 6,000 years ago.
"It is believed that poisonous plants generally taste bitter compared to edible ones," Li said. "Our study showed that starvation forced people to eat previously untried plants and vegetables in the wild."
As their experiences accumulated, people began to realize the danger of plants that tasted bitter and learned to stay away from them. Those who ate harmful plants because they were less sensitive to bitter taste were eliminated by death, the professor said.
"Gradually, those who were averse to bitter taste survived and passed their gene to the next generation," he added.
"This strong aversion to bitter taste may be one of the reasons behind the rich variety of food and herbal medicine in China as our ancestors were forced to find as many edible herbs as possible to stay alive," Li said.
The finding can be used in the development of applied sciences for the pharmaceutical and food industries, he added.
Li Hui, a Shanghai Fudan University professor and a renowned Chinese anthropologist, announced his finding after his team completed a research into the taste genes of the Chinese people.
The US magazine, Human Biology, published Li's paper in its June issue.
Li said the finding explained why some vegetables Westerners like, such as broccoli and Brussels sprout, are frowned on by many Chinese. It's because the tongue of a Chinese can detect the slight bitterness of these vegetables.
The research found the average Chinese has a gene more sensitive to bitter taste, named TAS2R16. This gene was enhanced incidentally by a massive famine in China about 5,000 to 6,000 years ago.
"It is believed that poisonous plants generally taste bitter compared to edible ones," Li said. "Our study showed that starvation forced people to eat previously untried plants and vegetables in the wild."
As their experiences accumulated, people began to realize the danger of plants that tasted bitter and learned to stay away from them. Those who ate harmful plants because they were less sensitive to bitter taste were eliminated by death, the professor said.
"Gradually, those who were averse to bitter taste survived and passed their gene to the next generation," he added.
"This strong aversion to bitter taste may be one of the reasons behind the rich variety of food and herbal medicine in China as our ancestors were forced to find as many edible herbs as possible to stay alive," Li said.
The finding can be used in the development of applied sciences for the pharmaceutical and food industries, he added.
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