Non Taste Lab Report

Introduction The ability to taste or non-taste PTC was discovered over 80 years ago, more exactly in 1931. A chemist named Arthur Fox accidently released a cloud of a fine crystalline phenylthiocarbamide in a lab. One of his colleagues complained about the bitter taste of the dust while Fox wasn’t able to taste it. Since then it has been scientifically proven that not all human beings can taste the bitterness in Phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) (Macbeth 1997). These differences in the ability to taste PTC or not have made it one of the most well documented Mendelian traits in human history. Scientists have linked the ability to taste PTC with the ability to taste other bitter products and sugars; thus, researchers have developed a correlation between the sensitivity of PTC to that of sucrose and quinine (Macbeth 1997). The ability to taste capsaicin in chili has also been linked with how bitter PTC tastes; however, this is as there is a perception that exposure and preference for spicy foods

After tasting, participants will be subdivided into tasters and non-tasters. Prior to the tasting test, an interview will be conducted where the participants will be asked whether they enjoy spicy food or not. Some of the questions in the interview are meant to determine and to see the students exposure and preference to spicy food in the past. The interview also aimed at determining whether the participants’ culture emphasize the use of spices and other bitter food substances, or not. The questions were based on the Ethnicity, on rating how much you enjoy spicy flavored food and How many times a month do you consume spicy foods? After the interview, each participant was presented with a consistent amount of chili powder on a tasteless slip of tasting paper. After tasting, each participant was asked to indicate their sensitivity to the tasted chili on a ranking scale of