Why does grapefruit taste like vomit

Have a tip we should know? She's a trained lawyer and opera singer as well as a mom and author. Filed Under: food genetics. Follow The Mary Sue: Twitter. Jessica Mason - Assistant Editor. Twitter Email. Different individuals may respond to medication in different ways. Every effort has been made to ensure that all information is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. The use of the eHealthMe site and its content is at your own risk.

If you use this eHealthMe study on publication, please acknowledge it with a citation: study title, URL, accessed date. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of eHealthMe. Toggle navigation eHealth Me. Home Analysis Grapefruit Nausea-and-vomiting. What is Grapefruit? What is Nausea and vomiting? Some reports may have incomplete information. The researchers then evaluated over two million places in the human genome to see whether people who were more similar in their perception of quinine also shared the same pattern of DNA.

They identified a region on chromosome 12 that was both near a bitter receptor and also associated with perception of quinine's bitterness. Testing a separate set of 73 twins, Reed and her collaborators confirmed that DNA changes within a gene coding for bitter receptors were associated with how intensely people perceived the bitterness of quinine. In addition to being located in the mouth, bitter receptors also are found in the gut.

It is possible that people who are insensitive to quinine's taste might also absorb or metabolize it differently. Noting that both the taste perception of a compound and its pharmacological properties might be conveyed via the same receptors, Reed speculates, "We wonder whether people who are less sensitive to the taste of some bitter medicines might get less pharmacological benefit from them. Future studies will seek to determine whether people who perceive quinine as more bitter are also more likely to benefit from quinine's anti-malarial actions.

Materials provided by Monell Chemical Senses Center. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Science News.