TASTE THRESHOLD FOR PHENYL‐THIO‐UREA IN MALAY SCHOOL CHILDREN

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Summary: A total of 237 Malay children (119 girls and 118 boys) were tested with serial dilutions of phenyl‐thio‐urea for their taste threshold. The method used is similar to the first stage of the method described by Harris & Kalmus (1949).In general the frequency distribution of taste threshold in the Malay children is similar to distributions obtained in other races by various investigators; the distribution is bimodal indicating separate frequency distributions of non‐tasters and tasters. The distributions of taste threshold in the tasters between the two sexes are significantly different. Though previous workers have recorded that the girls are more sensitive than the boys, the taste threshold distributions in the Malay children seem to show that the girls are less sensitive than the boys.The percentages of non‐tasters among the Malay boys and other rams are compared. The percentage of non‐tasters among the Europeans is large and that among the Chinese and Africans is small. The percentage of non‐tasters among the Malay children is intermediate. These differences are significant.