phenylthiocarbamide

1. A crystalline compound that tastes somewhat or intensely bitter to people with a specific dominant gene and is used to test for the presence of the gene. Also called phenylthiourea. Chemical formula: C ₆ H ₅ NHCSNH ₂ .

Example Sentences

I keep a pack of phenylthiocarbamide strips in my desk and if people are interested in knowing if they’re a supertaster, I have them chew on a strip and tell me what they taste.

Read more on New York Times

This means that I lack the ability to perceive a particular chemical called phenylthiocarbamide, which is often applied to paper one can touch to the tongue in high school biology classes to illustrate genetic inheritance of recessive traits.

Read more on Slate

In particular, the NMR appears to lack the phenylthiocarbamide taste, a dominant genetic trait in humans, as well as several other common bitter tastes.

Read more on Nature