Cilantro, the leaf of the Coriandrum sativum plant, has been documented as being one of the most polarizing and divisive foods known. It has been proposed that extreme disliking of this herb may be explained by genetic variation. The objectives of this thesis were to quantify the prevalence of cilantro disliking in various ethnocultural groups, to identify genetic polymorphisms that are associated with this trait using genome-wide association studies, and to analyze the associations of these polymorphisms within different ethnocultural groups. Prevalence of cilantro disliking was found to range from 3%, among Middle Eastern subjects, to 21% among East Asians. Two polymorphisms, one in the OR4N5 olfactory receptor gene and the other in the TAS2R1 taste receptor gene, were found to be associated with cilantro preference in the Caucasian subset of the study population. No statistically significant associations were observed within other ethnic groups.

Cilantro, the leaf of the Coriandrum sativum plant, has been documented as being one of the most polarizing and divisive foods known. It has been proposed that extreme disliking of this herb may be explained by genetic variation. The objectives of this thesis were to quantify the prevalence of cilantro disliking in various ethnocultural groups, to identify genetic polymorphisms that are associated with this trait using genome-wide association studies, and to analyze the associations of these polymorphisms within different ethnocultural groups. Prevalence of cilantro disliking was found to range from 3%, among Middle Eastern subjects, to 21% among East Asians. Two polymorphisms, one in the OR4N5 olfactory receptor gene and the other in the TAS2R1 taste receptor gene, were found to be associated with cilantro preference in the Caucasian subset of the study population. No statistically significant associations were observed within other ethnic groups.