Tarragon Ernesto, Stein Jakob, Meyer Jobst
Institute of Psychobiology, Department of Neurobehavioral Genetics, University of Trier, 54290 Trier, Germany.
Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University Jaume I, 12071 Castellon, Spain.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2018 Oct 16;8(10):94. doi: 10.3390/bs8100094.
Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) influences the perception of taste and texture, features both relevant in acquiring food liking and, with time, food preference. However, no studies have yet investigated the relationship between basal activity levels of sAA and food preference. We collected saliva from 57 volunteers (63% women) who we assessed in terms of their preference for different food items. These items were grouped into four categories according to their nutritional properties: high in starch, high in sugar, high glycaemic index, and high glycaemic load. Anthropometric markers of cardiovascular risk were also calculated. Our findings suggest that sAA influences food preference and body composition in women. Regression analysis showed that basal sAA activity is inversely associated with subjective but not self-reported behavioural preference for foods high in sugar. Additionally, sAA and subjective preference are associated with anthropometric markers of cardiovascular risk. We believe that this pilot study points to this enzyme as an interesting candidate to consider among the physiological factors that modulate eating behaviour.
唾液α-淀粉酶（sAA）会影响味觉和质地的感知，这两个特征在培养对食物的喜爱以及随着时间推移形成食物偏好方面都很重要。然而，尚无研究调查sAA的基础活性水平与食物偏好之间的关系。我们从57名志愿者（63%为女性）中收集了唾液，并评估了她们对不同食物的偏好。这些食物根据其营养特性分为四类：高淀粉、高糖、高血糖指数和高血糖负荷。还计算了心血管风险的人体测量指标。我们的研究结果表明，sAA会影响女性的食物偏好和身体组成。回归分析显示，基础sAA活性与对高糖食物的主观偏好呈负相关，但与自我报告的行为偏好无关。此外，sAA和主观偏好与心血管风险的人体测量指标有关。我们认为，这项初步研究表明，在调节饮食行为的生理因素中，这种酶是一个值得考虑的有趣候选因素。
