259 | id == 259
259 | category_id == 15
259 | category_order == 11
259 | category_name == Diet
259 | category_color == #C47AC0
259 | slug == OR6A2-diet
259 | title == Do You Think Cilantro (Coriander) Tastes Like Soap? (OR6A2)
259 | meta_description == OR6A2 is a smell receptor sensitive to aldehydes. Could this gene be why cilantro sometimes tastes like soap? Find out here.
259 | summary == <p><strong><em>OR6A2 </em>is a smell receptor sensitive to aldehydes. Could this gene be a reason why cilantro tastes like soap to some people but not others? Find out here.</strong></p>
259 | overall_score_text == Cilantro Preference Score (based on OR6A2)
259 | image == https://sd-selfdecode-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/background/OR6A---Preferences-Cilantro-liking.jpg
259 | author_id == 1
259 | author_name == Jasmine Foster
259 | author_title == BSc, BEd
259 | author_order == 36
259 | author_photo == https://sd-selfdecode-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/author-photo/Jasmine.jpg
259 | author_intro == <p><strong>Jasmine received her BS from McGill University and her BEd from Vancouver Island University.</strong></p>    <p>Jasmine loves helping people understand their brains and bodies, a passion that grew out of her dual background in biology and education. From the chem lab to the classroom, everyone has the right to learn and make informed decisions about their health.</p>
259 | reviewer_id == 14
259 | reviewer_name == Shany Lahan
259 | reviewer_title == MS (Neuroscience)
259 | medical_reviewer_id == 11
259 | medical_reviewer_name == Puya Yazdi
259 | medical_reviewer_title == MD
259 | publish_date == 2020
259 | publish_date == 8
259 | publish_date == 5
259 | avg_rating == 5.0
259 | tags_id == 580
259 | tags_name == Cilantro
259 | tags_id == 183
259 | tags_name == Diet
259 | tags_id == 579
259 | tags_name == OR6A2 Gene
259 | tags_id == 487
259 | tags_name == Taste
259 | tags_id == 181
259 | tags_name == Taste Perception
259 | permissions_favorite == False
259 | permissions_rate == False
259 | content_article == <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you have any serious health concerns related to dietary issues, it is important to discuss these concerns with your doctor. The information in this post is presented for educational purposes only, and should not be used to replace standard medical care.</span></em></p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">What is </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">OR6A2</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">?</span></h2> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">OR6A2</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> encodes olfactory receptor 6A2 (also abbreviated OR6A2). This is one of the receptor proteins that transmits smells from the nose to the brain [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene?Db=gene&amp;Cmd=DetailsSearch&amp;Term=8590"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The olfactory receptor gene family is enormous, with over 300 genes identified so far. When these receptors are activated in various combinations, we perceive specific smells. OR6A2 binds to a class of chemical compounds called aldehydes [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC356993/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Does Cilantro Taste Like Soap?</span></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cilantro, also known as coriander, is a cooking herb common in cuisines from Latin America, the Mediterranean, East Asia, and elsewhere. Cilantro is under investigation as a so-called &ldquo;functional food&rdquo; with many potential health benefits [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29433220/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4152784/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To a majority of people, it has a mild and pleasant taste. Some people, however, report that cilantro tastes like soap or vomit, or even that it reminds them of the smell of stink bugs!</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cilantro contains an aldehyde compound called trans-2-decenal (T2D), which is also present in soap and some species of&mdash;you guessed it&mdash;stink bug. Some people are more sensitive than others to these compounds; for them, the soapy taste of cilantro can be downright repellant [</span><a href="https://www.nature.com/news/soapy-taste-of-coriander-linked-to-genetic-variants-1.11398"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ajevonline.org/content/early/2016/08/16/ajev.2016.15096"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jafc.6b04268"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Genetics of Taste</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Taste and smell are highly complex and interrelated senses; you can identify as many tastes as you can because of the combination of taste and smell receptors that each substance activates. We evolved this ability so that we could correctly identify energy-dense foods (high in fat and sugar) as well as potentially dangerous poisons and disease agents [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3342754/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some of the compounds our tongues and noses recognize as dangerous include aldehydes. While aldehydes are a broad category of compounds, they are almost all toxic in large amounts; our bodies have robust enzyme systems in place specifically to transform aldehydes into less toxic compounds [</span><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03602532.2018.1555587"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">OR6A2 is a smell receptor that binds strongly with aldehydes like T2D, which can make cilantro taste like soap to sensitive people. Thus, researchers believe that higher expression of </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">OR6A2</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> could have to do with sensitivity to cilantro [</span><a href="https://flavourjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/2044-7248-1-22"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3714112/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6722914/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Note that T2D isn&rsquo;t generally considered harmful at all; in fact, it is present in many foods and used as a flavoring agent [</span><a href="https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/2-Decenal"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400; background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;">OR6A2 is especially sensitive to T2D, an aldehyde compound found in cilantro that reportedly smells and tastes like soap, vomit, or even stink bugs.</span></p> <h2><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">OR6A2 </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Variants &amp; Cilantro</span></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The &lsquo;A&rsquo; allele of </span><a href="../../../snp/rs72921001/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">rs72921001</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> has been associated with increased likelihood of being repelled by the taste of cilantro [</span><a href="https://flavourjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/2044-7248-1-22"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.nature.com/news/soapy-taste-of-coriander-linked-to-genetic-variants-1.11398"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, the rs72921001 genotype alone is not decisive. Plenty of people with the &lsquo;AA&rsquo; genotype enjoy cilantro, and a small fraction of those with the &lsquo;CC&rsquo; genotype think it tastes like soap. This variant simply indicates that people with the &lsquo;A&rsquo; allele are </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">more likely</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to be repelled by cilantro than those without the allele [</span><a href="https://flavourjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/2044-7248-1-22"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.nature.com/news/soapy-taste-of-coriander-linked-to-genetic-variants-1.11398"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Your </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">OR6A2 </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Results for Cilantro Taste</span></h2> <p>*3323942856525552*</p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">SNP Summary and Table</span></h3> <p><strong>OR6A2 rs72921001</strong></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;C&rsquo; = Associated with decreased likelihood of perceiving cilantro to have a soapy taste</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;A&rsquo; = Associated with increased likelihood of perceiving cilantro to have a soapy taste</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">About 12% of all people worldwide have the &lsquo;AA&rsquo; genotype.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The &lsquo;AA&rsquo; genotype is more common in people of South Asian descent (20%) and less common in people of African descent (3.5%).</span></li> </ul> <p>*2826393497452484*</p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Recommendations for Cilantro Taste Preference</span></h2> <p>*3624517518397079*</p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Can You Learn to Tolerate Cilantro?</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you already perceive a soapy taste to cilantro, you probably already avoid foods that contain it. There is no evidence that cilantro&rsquo;s aldehydes are any more harmful to sensitive people than to the general public, but there&rsquo;s also no particular reason to force yourself to eat cilantro if you hate it [</span><a href="https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/2-Decenal"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There is some anecdotal precedent for people learning to tolerate the taste of cilantro even if they initially can&rsquo;t stand it. Research also suggests that you can learn to like the tastes of foods that you don&rsquo;t like (you&rsquo;ve probably heard the term &ldquo;acquired taste&rdquo;), but it&rsquo;s much easier to acquire tastes in childhood than later in life. If you want to learn to tolerate cilantro and you are already an adult, you will probably need to be very determined, and the experience will not be pleasant for quite some time [</span><a href="https://www.nature.com/news/soapy-taste-of-coriander-linked-to-genetic-variants-1.11398"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5741689/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5331538/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One researcher who initially hated cilantro but has learned to enjoy it recommends crushing the herb and making a pesto-like sauce. He says that physically breaking up the cilantro leaves may help the plant&rsquo;s enzymes break down the soapy-tasting aldehydes faster, making it more pleasant to sensitive palates [</span><a href="https://www.nature.com/news/soapy-taste-of-coriander-linked-to-genetic-variants-1.11398"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400; background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;">There is certainly no harm in avoiding cilantro, but it may be possible to learn to tolerate the taste through repeated exposure and by breaking up the leaves of the herb.</span></p>
259 | content_snp_table_3323942856525552_key == 3323942856525552
259 | content_snp_table_3323942856525552_blur == True
259 | content_snp_table_3323942856525552_hidden == False
259 | content_learn_more_2826393497452484_key == 2826393497452484
259 | content_learn_more_2826393497452484_blur == True
259 | content_learn_more_2826393497452484_hidden == False
259 | content_learn_more_2826393497452484_text == Based on the variants we looked at, your OR6A2 gene is somewhat associated with an increased likelihood of cilantro tasting like soap. However, other factors are believed to strongly influence this trait as well. If you want to develop a tolerance for cilantro, crushing it before eating it may help; read on to learn more.
259 | content_recommendation_3624517518397079_key == 3624517518397079
259 | content_recommendation_3624517518397079_blur == True
259 | content_recommendation_3624517518397079_hidden == False
rsIDs = rs72921001
rsStatus = rs72921001,OR10A2,chr11,6868417,C,A,,,30,0,Normal
