Are You A 'Supertaster'? You Might Be More Protected From COVID-19

Supertasters, or those who are particularly sensitive to bitter tastes, might be more protected against COVID-19, a team of researchers found.

For their study, published in JAMA Network Open, a team of researchers categorized close to 2,000 participants as "nontasters," "tasters" or "supertasters" via a T2R38 test. Nontasters are the people who can't taste bitter flavors, tasters are the ones who can, and supertasters are the ones who are extremely sensitive to it, HealthDay explained.

Researches have suggested that a person's genes may have something to do with their being supertasters, Healthline said, noting that women are more likely to be supertasters than men.

Among the 1,935 participants of the study, 26.3% were supertasters while 47.4% were tasters and 26.4% were nontasters.

A total of 266 participants ended up testing positive for COVID-19. Interestingly, 39.1% of those who got infected were tasters and 55.3% were nontasters, but only 5.6% were supertasters.

Researchers found that the nontasters are "significantly" more likely to test positive for the virus, be hospitalized for it and experience symptoms for a longer period of time compared to tasters and supertasters.

Among the 55 who had to be hospitalized, 85.5% were categorized as nontasters before they got infected and the rest were tasters. None of them were supertasters.

Moreover, the supertasters only experienced symptoms for an average of about five days, while nontasters had theirs for a much longer average of 23 days.

According to the researchers, this suggests "enhanced innate immune protection" among the supertasters.

"Bitter taste receptor phenotype appears to be associated with the clinical course and symptom duration of SARS-CoV-2 infection," the researchers wrote.

The reason behind this is not fully known, HealthDay noted, but the researchers surmise that the bitter taste receptor T2R38, which can be found in the taste buds, may have something to do with it.

"When T2R38 is stimulated, it responds by producing nitric oxide to help kill or prevent further replication of viruses in the respiratory mucosa," Dr. Henry Barham, study co-author and ear, nose and throat specialist, said as per HealthDay.

"Our data suggest that the T2Rs may play a vital role in protection against SARS-CoV-2 by enhancing the host's innate immune response against SARS-CoV-2," the researchers wrote.

Further studies on a "larger scale" are needed to determine the role that the expression of T2R38 plays in disease, the researchers said. It may have "global implications" for understanding COVID-19 and even other conditions such as influenza.