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Sensitivity to P‐T‐C among primates
Author(s) -
Eaton John W.,
Gavan James A.
Publication year - 1965
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.1330230411
Subject(s) - taste , saliva , tyrosine , biology , polymorphism (computer science) , chemistry , zoology , food science , genetics , biochemistry , genotype , gene
The taste threshold of 228 subjects from 17 species of non‐human primates was determined with graded solutions of P‐T‐C. Among species for which the sample size was sufficiently large, only the chimpanzee definitely showed a bimodal distribution. Experiments with tyrosine and cabbage indicate that the concentration of the former, in saliva, influences the individual's threshold and that the amount of cabbage, or other goitrogens, in the diet probably also has an influence. These results, in addition to information in the literature, indicate that sensitivity to P‐T‐C is not selectively neutral and, in man, may be another example of balance polymorphism.