You have probably experienced it:broccoli and other cauliflowers are not on the favorite menus of our dear darlings. In question, their acrid smell and their sometimes bitter taste. According to a new study, certain bacteria present inside our mouths could accentuate this aversion.
Broccoli, cauliflower and other Brussels sprouts… Many children, as well as adults, have a real aversion to vegetables from the Brassica family because of their notoriously bitter taste. and their pungent smell. These very special characteristics are usually attributed to compounds called glucosinolates which, after being chewed, are converted into a chemical called isothiocyanate. But is this the only contributing factor?
According to new research, another process may also influence some people's adverse response to these vegetables. Details of this work are published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Brassica vegetables contain a compound called S-methyl-ʟ-cysteine sulfoxide which produces powerful sulfurous odors when activated by an enzyme found in the tissues of the plant . However, this same enzyme is also produced by bacteria in the oral microbiomes of some people. Previous work has already pointed out that adults can offer different levels of this enzyme in their saliva, but what about children? And if so, can these enzymes influence their food preferences?
A recent study by Damian Frank and his team at Australia's National Science Agency sought to answer this question. And for good reason, in Australia, as in most Western countries, vegetable consumption is lower than the recommendations for adults and children . It is therefore necessary to understand why.
For this work, researchers used gas chromatography-olfactometry-mass spectrometry to identify key odor compounds in raw and steamed cauliflower and broccoli. steam. They then recruited 98 child/parent pairs and asked them to evaluate the main olfactory compounds present in these vegetables. Dimethyl trisulfide (rotten smell) and sulfur were the least popular odors. The team then mixed saliva samples with raw cauliflower powder and analyzed the volatile compounds produced over time.
At the end of the analyses, the researchers highlighted large differences in the production of volatile sulfur between individuals . Overall, the more children produced large amounts of volatile sulfur compounds in saliva, the less they liked vegetables from the Brassica family. Interestingly, this relationship has not been observed in adults. For the authors, therefore, we could learn to tolerate this flavor over time .
