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Brassica plants, taste and smell, make me physically nauseous. I theorize that this is a genetic disposition. Asparagus makes your urine smell of fresh mown gr

Brassica plants, taste and smell, make me physically nauseous. I theorize that this is a genetic disposition. Asparagus makes your urine smell of fresh mown grass, except that mine doesn't, and I cannot detect that odour in another person's urine after they have ate asparagus. We... uh... ran some experiments to determine this. I theorized for a few years that this was a genetic thing, and sure enough, research published recently (in the past three years) bears this out. My wife thinks that cilantro tastes of soap. And I theorized this is a genetic disposition. Research in the past few years bears this out. But cilantro to me, is a mild hallucinogenic and also a skin irritant. Which I theorized was a genetic response. And sure enough, in the past few years, research indicates that cilantro on certain people can act as an hallucinogenic. I have gained an appreciation for Mexican food more so of late.

cwkoss 4y ago
Could you describe the nature of cilantro hallucinations? Visual? Closed eye or open eye? Auditory? I've never heard of someone having this kind of reaction to cilantro and find it fascinating.
- justinlloyd 4y ago
  Cilantro contains thujone which is a neurotoxin, the same as found in absinthe. So I'm kinda like a dolphin using a puffer fish to get high. There are various studies in this compound, and others, and it is a controlled compound regulated by the EU. I have independent verification by friends who are scientists and medical doctors at one gathering who have conducted observations that my pupils dilate, my eyes become bloodshot and, in the words of one observer, "I become more whoo-whoo. Whooo! Whoooooooo!" whatever that means. As my normal demeanour flips between "I don't want to be around people, you're all so tiring, I just want to be quiet" and a hyperactive Robin Williams amped up on caffeine and sugar, I am guessing I become even more "Whoooo! Whooooooooooooo! Let's par-tehhh!" I am probably over-compensating for something. The video recordings are cringeworthy. We've done independent blind tests of "is this psychosomatic" or do I truly have a reaction. Multiple blind tests of a single subject (me) by multiple qualified observers over the course of several days do indeed bear out that I have an unintended reaction to cilantro, the oils from cilantro and the active ingredients in cilantro. Direct contact of the cilantro on my skin makes my skin itch and become red and bumpy. When I imbibe even small amounts of cilantro, no more than you would get in a standard serving with a meal, to me, it feels like I am drunk and whoozy for about 20 or so minutes before the effects pass. Again, to reiterate, I suspect my extreme reaction to cilantro is genetic and gives me a sensitivity and reaction that most of the population doesn't have, much like some of the population also detects cilantro tasting of soap. Though I suspect these are very different genetic markers.
  - cwkoss 4y ago
    Very interesting. What you describe sounds consistent with thujone from my experiences with absinthe and thuja leaf (though with significantly greater amplitude of effect). The flips to quiet are perhaps a bit uncharacteristic. Could be interesting (if so inclined) to try chewing on sprig of Thuja cedar - it has very high thujone content, so could confirm that thujone is the active chemical causing this effect. You didn't mention any hallucinatory symptoms. If you eat cilantro before laying down in a dark room and closing your eyes, do you get hypnogogic imagery (dreamlike visualizations experienced before falling asleep)? I think thujone can promote that for me a bit, but I'm not very thujone sensitive. I hadn't thought about thujone sensitivity being so variable between people: certainly an interesting lens to view the historical popularity of absinthe. Thanks for the thorough reply!
blastro 4y ago
I have had this reaction to cilantro as well. It was very fun and enjoyable. The odd thing is that it's only happened once, with freshly picked cilantro from my garden. I haven't been able to reproduce the effect, although I would like to. I didn't know about this feature of the plant, so thanks for posting.
- justinlloyd 4y ago
  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33784072 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33784072
- anon84873628 4y ago
  Perhaps different cultivars/varieties have varying levels of the active compound?
zikduruqe 4y ago
> My wife thinks that cilantro tastes of soap. And I theorized this is a genetic disposition. Your theory is fact. https://flavourjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/2044-7248-1-22 https://flavourjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/20... Here, we present the results of a genome-wide association study among 14,604 participants of European ancestry who reported whether cilantro tasted soapy, with replication in a distinct set of 11,851 participants who declared whether they liked cilantro. We find a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) significantly associated with soapy-taste detection that is confirmed in the cilantro preference group. This SNP, rs72921001 (p = 6.4 × 10−9, odds ratio 0.81 per A allele), lies within a cluster of olfactory receptor genes on chromosome 11. Among these olfactory receptor genes is OR6A2, which has a high binding specificity for several of the aldehydes that give cilantro its characteristic odor. We also estimate the heritability of cilantro soapy-taste detection in our cohort, showing that the heritability tagged by common SNPs is low, about 0.087.
- justinlloyd 4y ago
  What was interesting is that, until I was dating my future wife, in 2008, I didn't know of anyone who thought that cilantro tasted like soap. A friend several years before mentioned that some people find that cilantro tastes of soap. As I was aware of my reaction to cilantro from years earlier, and then meeting my future wife who thinks cilantro tastes soapy, like all good science I was like "huh, that's odd, based on these two polar opposite reactions I wonder if there is a genetic component to it." And I did some digging, and signed up to answer some questions and do a blood test, and a few years later, there was a study published. My wife is from Indiana, 2nd generation immigrant, of Italian descent. I am Welsh whose ancestry in that country goes back at least 12 generations with no outside mixing, or so I am told.
halpmeh 4y ago
Almost everything is genetic, so no surprises there. Cilantro has always tasted like soap to me. As a kid, I couldn't really even be in the same room with the herb. However, my wife frequently makes me eat it because she likes it. As a result of frequent exposure, I no longer find the taste offensive. I guess the point is this: there may be a genetic component to whether or not cilantro tastes like soap, but it may also be possible to learn to like the taste of soap.
Melatonic 4y ago
Not to belittle you or anything but have we not known all of that for a lot longer than a few years? I remember as a child 25+ years ago being told about the cilantro and asparagus thing (being genetic). Although I suppose that could have just been common knowledge and not proven.
- justinlloyd 4y ago
  Yes, it has been noted for probably longer than I have been alive. It is only in the past decade they found the cause for this. Common knowledge, but not proven, as you say.
anon84873628 4y ago
Never heard that about cilantro before. Can you please elaborate on these hallucinogenic effects?
- justinlloyd 4y ago
  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33784072 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33784072

cwkoss 4y ago

Could you describe the nature of cilantro hallucinations? Visual? Closed eye or open eye? Auditory? I've never heard of someone having this kind of reaction to cilantro and find it fascinating.

justinlloyd 4y ago
Cilantro contains thujone which is a neurotoxin, the same as found in absinthe. So I'm kinda like a dolphin using a puffer fish to get high. There are various studies in this compound, and others, and it is a controlled compound regulated by the EU. I have independent verification by friends who are scientists and medical doctors at one gathering who have conducted observations that my pupils dilate, my eyes become bloodshot and, in the words of one observer, "I become more whoo-whoo. Whooo! Whoooooooo!" whatever that means. As my normal demeanour flips between "I don't want to be around people, you're all so tiring, I just want to be quiet" and a hyperactive Robin Williams amped up on caffeine and sugar, I am guessing I become even more "Whoooo! Whooooooooooooo! Let's par-tehhh!" I am probably over-compensating for something. The video recordings are cringeworthy. We've done independent blind tests of "is this psychosomatic" or do I truly have a reaction. Multiple blind tests of a single subject (me) by multiple qualified observers over the course of several days do indeed bear out that I have an unintended reaction to cilantro, the oils from cilantro and the active ingredients in cilantro. Direct contact of the cilantro on my skin makes my skin itch and become red and bumpy. When I imbibe even small amounts of cilantro, no more than you would get in a standard serving with a meal, to me, it feels like I am drunk and whoozy for about 20 or so minutes before the effects pass. Again, to reiterate, I suspect my extreme reaction to cilantro is genetic and gives me a sensitivity and reaction that most of the population doesn't have, much like some of the population also detects cilantro tasting of soap. Though I suspect these are very different genetic markers.
- cwkoss 4y ago
  Very interesting. What you describe sounds consistent with thujone from my experiences with absinthe and thuja leaf (though with significantly greater amplitude of effect). The flips to quiet are perhaps a bit uncharacteristic. Could be interesting (if so inclined) to try chewing on sprig of Thuja cedar - it has very high thujone content, so could confirm that thujone is the active chemical causing this effect. You didn't mention any hallucinatory symptoms. If you eat cilantro before laying down in a dark room and closing your eyes, do you get hypnogogic imagery (dreamlike visualizations experienced before falling asleep)? I think thujone can promote that for me a bit, but I'm not very thujone sensitive. I hadn't thought about thujone sensitivity being so variable between people: certainly an interesting lens to view the historical popularity of absinthe. Thanks for the thorough reply!

blastro 4y ago

I have had this reaction to cilantro as well. It was very fun and enjoyable. The odd thing is that it's only happened once, with freshly picked cilantro from my garden. I haven't been able to reproduce the effect, although I would like to. I didn't know about this feature of the plant, so thanks for posting.

justinlloyd 4y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33784072 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33784072
anon84873628 4y ago
Perhaps different cultivars/varieties have varying levels of the active compound?

zikduruqe 4y ago

> My wife thinks that cilantro tastes of soap. And I theorized this is a genetic disposition. Your theory is fact. https://flavourjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/2044-7248-1-22 https://flavourjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/20... Here, we present the results of a genome-wide association study among 14,604 participants of European ancestry who reported whether cilantro tasted soapy, with replication in a distinct set of 11,851 participants who declared whether they liked cilantro. We find a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) significantly associated with soapy-taste detection that is confirmed in the cilantro preference group. This SNP, rs72921001 (p = 6.4 × 10−9, odds ratio 0.81 per A allele), lies within a cluster of olfactory receptor genes on chromosome 11. Among these olfactory receptor genes is OR6A2, which has a high binding specificity for several of the aldehydes that give cilantro its characteristic odor. We also estimate the heritability of cilantro soapy-taste detection in our cohort, showing that the heritability tagged by common SNPs is low, about 0.087.

justinlloyd 4y ago
What was interesting is that, until I was dating my future wife, in 2008, I didn't know of anyone who thought that cilantro tasted like soap. A friend several years before mentioned that some people find that cilantro tastes of soap. As I was aware of my reaction to cilantro from years earlier, and then meeting my future wife who thinks cilantro tastes soapy, like all good science I was like "huh, that's odd, based on these two polar opposite reactions I wonder if there is a genetic component to it." And I did some digging, and signed up to answer some questions and do a blood test, and a few years later, there was a study published. My wife is from Indiana, 2nd generation immigrant, of Italian descent. I am Welsh whose ancestry in that country goes back at least 12 generations with no outside mixing, or so I am told.

halpmeh 4y ago

Almost everything is genetic, so no surprises there. Cilantro has always tasted like soap to me. As a kid, I couldn't really even be in the same room with the herb. However, my wife frequently makes me eat it because she likes it. As a result of frequent exposure, I no longer find the taste offensive. I guess the point is this: there may be a genetic component to whether or not cilantro tastes like soap, but it may also be possible to learn to like the taste of soap.

Melatonic 4y ago

Not to belittle you or anything but have we not known all of that for a lot longer than a few years? I remember as a child 25+ years ago being told about the cilantro and asparagus thing (being genetic). Although I suppose that could have just been common knowledge and not proven.

justinlloyd 4y ago
Yes, it has been noted for probably longer than I have been alive. It is only in the past decade they found the cause for this. Common knowledge, but not proven, as you say.

anon84873628 4y ago

Never heard that about cilantro before. Can you please elaborate on these hallucinogenic effects?

justinlloyd 4y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33784072 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33784072