Babies could inherit sweet tooth in the womb

Babies could inherit a taste for certain foods from their mothers while still in the womb, researchers believe.

A study by French scientists shows that newborns can recognise aromas they have been exposed to during the final days of gestation. It suggests that a mother's dietary choices could alter the way their baby's sensory system develops and influence their taste before they are even born. Researchers from the European Centre for Taste Science in Dijon tested 24 babies, half of whose mothers had eaten biscuits laced with aniseed in the ten days leading up to birth.

Experiments carried out hours after birth and again four days later showed that the infants whose mothers had eaten the biscuits could recognise, and appeared to enjoy, the smell of aniseed. Speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting in Vancouver, Dr Benoist Schaal said the aroma of aniseed would have been passed through the baby's nose in their mother's amniotic fluid before they were born.

Compounds in the fluid could have stimulated and helped shape sensors in the foetus's nose and implanted a memory for the smell in their developing brain.

He said: "During pregnancy a woman is relatively permeable to her environment and what a mother takes in, in a certain dose, also goes to the foetus." This happens "during a period when the brain is being formed, so probably with long-term consequences," he added.

Tests showed that just three hours after birth most babies who had been exposed to aniseed in the womb would lean towards a swab containing the odour, while those who had not would either pull a disgusted face and turn away or not react at all. Another experiment in which a swab of aniseed and a "control" swab of another aroma were placed on either side of the babies' heads showed that the aniseed-exposed group leant overwhelmingly towards the scent while the other babies showed no preference.

The test was carried out hours after birth and repeated four days later, with the same results. Our sense of smell directly influences the way we taste our food, Dr Schall explained. He said: "In general when we appreciate a food we say it is the taste of the food, but in general it is really the odour of the food.

"When you seperate the effect of taste and odour is when you have flu, and you taste a good wine - it is bland, there is nothing." Separate studies have shown that a baby's taste could also be affected by aromas in their mother's breast milk. Babies whose mothers who used a camomile balm when beginning to breastfeed were more attracted to it even when tested 21 months after birth.

German researchers also found that people who were born before 1992 - when the country stopped its practice of adding vanilla to all formula milk - preferred the flavour in adulthood. When given the choice of two ketchups, one of which included a tiny hint of vanilla, adults born before 1992 preferred the scented version while younger people chose the regular one.

If confirmed by further studies, the findings could help shape health policy, Dr Schall said. Encouraging pregnant and lactating women to eat more fruit and vegetables, for example, could transfer a taste for healthy foods to their children, he said.

Telegraph UK