rashka
11-12-2012, 01:24 AM
Cilantro as a matter of taste
September 2012
For many people fresh cilantro is a beloved ingredient in their favorite dishes. Others find the herb practically inedible, likening the taste to soap, mold, and dirt. The story behind this love-hate reaction is partly genetic.
The proportion of people who dislike fresh cilantro (also known as coriander) varies by ethnicity and genetic factors are suspected to play a role. In the largest genome-wide association study of cilantro preference to date, 23andMe scientists compared genetic data from more than 25,000 individuals with European ancestry who declared whether they liked the taste of fresh cilantro or whether they thought cilantro had a soapy taste. We found that people with the AA genotype at rs7107418 had higher odds of perceiving a soapy taste in cilantro and higher odds of disliking the herb compared to those with the AG genotype, and people with the GG genotype had lower odds of perceiving a soapy taste or disliking cilantro. This SNP is close to a number of genes coding for olfactory receptors, one of which (OR6A2) is involved in detecting certain chemical compounds called aldehydes that are key components of cilantro aroma.
http://www.countryliving.com/cm/countryliving/images/cilantro-de.jpg
REFERENCE Eriksson N et al. (2012) A genetic variant near olfactory receptor genes influences cilantro preference. (Manuscript in review, available via preprint)
The SNP highlighted in this study is rs72921001, which is not directly tested by 23andMe but was inferred from nearby SNPs. We provide information for rs7107418 above, which is highly correlated with rs72921001 in individuals of European descent.
September 2012
For many people fresh cilantro is a beloved ingredient in their favorite dishes. Others find the herb practically inedible, likening the taste to soap, mold, and dirt. The story behind this love-hate reaction is partly genetic.
The proportion of people who dislike fresh cilantro (also known as coriander) varies by ethnicity and genetic factors are suspected to play a role. In the largest genome-wide association study of cilantro preference to date, 23andMe scientists compared genetic data from more than 25,000 individuals with European ancestry who declared whether they liked the taste of fresh cilantro or whether they thought cilantro had a soapy taste. We found that people with the AA genotype at rs7107418 had higher odds of perceiving a soapy taste in cilantro and higher odds of disliking the herb compared to those with the AG genotype, and people with the GG genotype had lower odds of perceiving a soapy taste or disliking cilantro. This SNP is close to a number of genes coding for olfactory receptors, one of which (OR6A2) is involved in detecting certain chemical compounds called aldehydes that are key components of cilantro aroma.
http://www.countryliving.com/cm/countryliving/images/cilantro-de.jpg
REFERENCE Eriksson N et al. (2012) A genetic variant near olfactory receptor genes influences cilantro preference. (Manuscript in review, available via preprint)
The SNP highlighted in this study is rs72921001, which is not directly tested by 23andMe but was inferred from nearby SNPs. We provide information for rs7107418 above, which is highly correlated with rs72921001 in individuals of European descent.