Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T02:36:17.417Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Taste Sensitivity to Phenylthiocarbamide among three Mongoloid Populations of the Indian Border

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

J. C. Sharma*
Affiliation:
Dept. of Anthropology, Panjab University, Chandigarh (India)

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Taste threshold for phenylthiocarbamide were studied among 242 Tibetans, 125 Spitians and 314 Lahaulis, the three Mongoloid populations of the Indo-Tibetan border. No statistically significant sex differences have been observed in the frequency of tasters and non-tasters in the present study. The frequency of non-tasters among Spitians (12.00%) and Lahaulis 12.73%) is strikingly similar and slightly higher than among Tibetans (10.74%). Statistically the difference in the three populations is non-significant (χ2 = 0.95, df = 2, p>0.05). In spite of the considerable Hindu admixture with a high frequency of non-taster gene, Spitians and Lahaulis have maintained a rather low frequency of non-tasters. This is true of populations all along the cis-Himalayan region, where similar Mongoloid and Hindu admixture has taken place. Besides the main Mongoloid element the proto-Australoid racial strain in the region may also be considered responsible for lowering the frequency of non-tasters.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The International Society for Twin Studies 1967

References

Literature

Barnicot, N. A. (1950). Taste deficiency for phenylthiourea in African Negroes and Chinese. Ann. Eugen., 15: 248–54.Google Scholar
Boyd, W. C. (1950). Genetics and the Races of Man. Little Brown and Co., Boston.Google Scholar
Das, S. R. (1956). A contribution to the heredity of the P.T.C. taste character based on a study of 845 sib-pairs. Ann. Hum. Genet., 20: 334–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Das, S. R. (1958). Inheritance of the P.T.C. taste character in man. An analysis of 126 Rarhi Brahmin families of West Bengal. 22: 200212.Google Scholar
Das, S. R., Ghoshi, L. (1956). A genetic survey among the Paniyan — a South India aboriginal tribe (ABO, MM Blood groups, secretor factor and taste ability). Bull. Dept. Anthrop. Govt. India, 3: 6572.Google Scholar
Harris, H., Kalmus, H. (1949). The measurement of taste sensitivity to Phenylthiourea. Ann. Eugen., 15: 2431.Google Scholar
Harris, H., Kalmus, H. (1951). The distribution of thresholds for phenylthiourea of 384 sib-pairs. Ann. Eugen., 16: 226230.Google Scholar
Kumar, N., Sastry, D. B. (1961). A genetic survey among the Reang — a mongoloid tribe of Tripura (North East India). Z. Morph. Anthrop., 51: 345355.Google Scholar
Lugo, J. W. H., Whyte, J. M. (1955). Taste threshold for phenylthiourea of some population groups. The threshold of some civilized ethnic groups living in Malaya. Ann. Hum. Genet., 19: 290311.Google Scholar
Nag, N. G. (1960). Family and marriage in Lahul Valley. East Anthrop., 13: 185202.Google Scholar
Saldanha, P. H. (1959). Taste threshold for phenylthiourea among Japanese. Ann. Hum. Genet., 22: 380384.Google Scholar
Seth, P. K. (1962). P.T.C. taste threshold distributions among the betel Chewers, non-vegetarians and smokers. East Anthrop., 15: 3649.Google Scholar
Sharma, J. C. (1962). Blood and P.T.C. taste studies in Panjabis and the effect of age and certain eating habits on taste threshold. Anthropologist, 6: 4046.Google Scholar
Tsuji, T. (1957). Individual differences and inheritance of taste ability for phenylthiocarbamide and related compounds. Jap. J. Hum. Genet., 2: 96117 (in Japanese, with an English summary).Google Scholar