Association of PROP bitter taste sensitivity with anhedonia and emotional eating in the Chinese population

Keying Lin; Yuying Chen; Yue Hua; Jiubo Zhao; Laiquan Zou

doi:10.1016/j.appet.2025.108210

Association of PROP bitter taste sensitivity with anhedonia and emotional eating in the Chinese population

Appetite. 2025 Jun 25:214:108210. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2025.108210. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Keying Lin¹, Yuying Chen¹, Yue Hua², Jiubo Zhao³, Laiquan Zou⁴

Affiliations

¹ Chemical Senses and Mental Health Lab, Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University (Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research), Guangzhou, 510515, China.
² School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China; Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine for Qingzhi Diseases, Guangzhou, 510515, China.
³ Chemical Senses and Mental Health Lab, Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University (Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research), Guangzhou, 510515, China. Electronic address: jiubozhao@126.com.
⁴ Chemical Senses and Mental Health Lab, Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University (Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research), Guangzhou, 510515, China. Electronic address: zoulq@smu.edu.cn.

PMID: 40578767
DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2025.108210

Abstract

A bitter taste in response to 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) and phenylthiourea (PTC) is a partially genetically determined trait. Anhedonia, characterized by a diminished capacity to experience pleasure, is linked to both the sensitivity to bitter tastes and emotional eating. However, the relationship between bitter tastes, anhedonia, and emotional eating is rarely simultaneously studied. 656 college students were assessed for their taste sensitivity utilizing PROP strips. Additionally, multiple aspects of anhedonia were measured using the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS), the Chemosensory Pleasure Scale (CPS), and eating behaviors were evaluated using the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ). Correlation analysis indicated that PROP taste sensitivity was positively associated with TEPS contextual anticipatory pleasure (r = 0.099, p < 0.05) and emotional eating (r = 0.115, p < 0.05). Mediation analysis indicated that TEPS contextual anticipatory pleasure mediated the relationship between PROP taste sensitivity and emotional eating. In conclusion, bitter taste sensitivity was associated with anhedonia and emotional behavior; hedonic capacity mediated the relationship between bitter taste sensitivity and emotional eating, providing further insight into the intricate link between PROP taste sensitivity and eating behavior.

Keywords: Anhedonia; Emotional eating; Hedonic capacity; PROP; Taste sensitivity.