Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2019 Nov 1:142:104376.
doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2019.104376. Epub 2019 Jul 18.

Association between variants of neuromedin U gene and taste thresholds and food preferences in European children: Results from the IDEFICS study

Claudio Grippi  1 , Wolfgang Ahrens  2 , Kirsten Buchecker  3 , Charalambos Chadjigeorgiou  4 , Stefaan De Henauw  5 , Anna C Koni  6 , Ronja Foraita  7 , Lauren Lissner  8 , Denés Molnár  9 , Luis A Moreno  10 , Yannis Pitsiladis  11 , Lucia A Reisch  12 , Paola Russo  13 , Alfonso Siani  13 , Toomas Veidebaum  14 , Licia Iacoviello  15 , Francesco Gianfagna  16
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Association between variants of neuromedin U gene and taste thresholds and food preferences in European children: Results from the IDEFICS study

Claudio Grippi et al. Appetite. .

Abstract

Aim: The neuropeptide neuromedin U (NMU) known for its role in appetite, feeding and energy balance could be involved in the control of food choice and taste sensitivity. We examined the association between NMU polymorphisms/haplotypes and taste thresholds and food preferences in a population of European children.

Methods: A total of 578 subjects from the IDEFICS study (mean age 7.5 ± 0.8 SD, boys 53.6%) with NMU genotype data and food preference (salty, fatty, sweet, flavour and umami food) and taste threshold (salt, fat, sweet, umami) tests available were analysed. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; rs6827359, T:C; rs12500837, T:C; rs9999653, C:T) of NMU gene were analyzed and five major haplotypes were inferred. The associations between genotypes and food preferences or taste thresholds were investigated (odds ratios -OR, adjusted for age, sex and country). A p < 0.05 after false discovery rate adjustment (pFDR) was considered statistically significant.

Results: The association between NMU genotypes and food preference showed two NMU SNPs associated with preference for food containing sodium glutamate (umami taste; rs6827359C, OR = 1.61, 95% confidence interval (CI):1.20-2.17; rs9999653T, OR = 1.59, 95%CI:1.18-2.13). In the haplotype analysis, the CTT haplotype showed an OR of 1.70 (95%CI:1.16-2.5) for the umami food preference, while CCT haplotype showed an OR of 1.63 (95%CI:1.11-2.40), compared to the most frequent haplotype (TTC). Carriers of CCT/CCT vs subjects with no CCT haplotype showed an OR of 4.78 (95%CI:1.86-12.30). Umami food preference was associated with low values of BMI z-score, arm circumferences, skinfolds and fat mass (pFDR<0.05). No association between NMU genetic variants and taste thresholds was found.

Conclusions: This study shows for the first time in children an association between preference for umami food and a NMU haplotype, previously found associated with low BMI values.

Keywords: Food preferences; Genetics; Neurology; Neuromedin U; Obesity; Umami.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types