# Bitter Taste Perception in BaYaka Hunter‐Gatherers

## TL;DR

BaYaka hunter-gatherers born in towns are more likely to perceive bitter tastes than those born in forests, suggesting early-life environment influences taste perception.

## Contribution

The study shows that ecological context during early life affects bitter taste perception in a human population.

## Key findings

- Town-born BaYaka individuals were more likely to perceive PTC and thiourea as bitter than forest-born individuals.
- No significant associations were found between bitter taste perception and sex or age.
- Early-life ecological context may influence bitter taste perception due to differences in exposure to bitter plant compounds.

## Abstract

This study examined variation in bitter taste perception among BaYaka hunter‐gatherers from the Republic of Congo, comparing individuals from the same population that were born and grew up in a forest ecology to those from a logging town.

Bitter‐tasting phenotype was assessed in 112 BaYaka individuals using a paper‐strip taste‐detection task with single‐concentration strips of phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and thiourea (thiocarbamide). Participants were grouped by the place where they were born and grew up: forest camps or the town. Logistic regression was used to test associations between location, sex, age, and bitter taste perception.

Town‐born individuals were more likely to perceive both compounds as bitter than forest‐born individuals (PTC: OR = 3.93, 95% CI: 1.75–9.17, p < 0.01; thiourea: OR = 4.44, 95% CI: 1.97–10.42, p < 0.01). No significant associations were found between bitter taste perception and sex or age.

Bitter‐tasting phenotype differed among BaYaka individuals, with higher proportions of bitter tasters among those born and raised in town compared to those from forest camps. These results suggest that early‐life ecological context may contribute towards variation in bitter taste perception, which we hypothesize might be due to differences in exposure to bitter wild plant compounds.