Food Colloids and Bioprocessing Group, School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
J Texture Stud. 2020 Feb;51(1):144-153. doi: 10.1111/jtxs.12478. Epub 2019 Sep 11.
Food material properties play an important role in sensory perception and consumer acceptance of foods. However, the actual oral processing behavior may depend on both the material properties of the food that is being consumed and individuals' oral capabilities. This study aimed to examine the relationships between intrinsic (oral capabilities of healthy participants) and extrinsic (food material properties of a set of hydrogels) variables to the real oral processing behavior. Three κ-carrageenan hydrogels (κC), differing in fracture mechanics and oral tribology properties, were prepared: native κC, κC with added Na-alginate, and a κC matrix with added Ca-alginate beads of 300 μm. A composite score of eating capability (EC) was measured with non-invasive techniques (maximum bite force and tongue pressure) using a panel of 28 untrained consumers. The oral processing behaviors (number of chews, oral residence time, and chewing rate) were analyzed with the same participants using frame-by-frame video analysis. It was found that the EC scores did not correlate with any of the oral processing behaviors. The number of chews and oral residence time showed a strong correlation with the fracture force and friction force at orally relevant speeds (10-100 mm/s), whereas chewing rate did not vary with these properties. The results from this study indicate that oral processing in healthy adults seems mainly motivated by food material properties, and the chewing rate seems to relate more to individual differences and EC than to food properties. Insights from this study, using model hydrogels, have helped to promote knowledge on oral processing behavior in healthy individuals; could bridge the gap between consumer science, psychology, and food science; and may be of interest to product developers in designing foods with pleasant texture properties.
食品材料特性在感官感知和消费者对食品的接受度方面起着重要作用。然而，实际的口腔加工行为可能取决于所消耗食品的材料特性和个体的口腔能力。本研究旨在研究内在（健康参与者的口腔能力）和外在（一组水凝胶的食品材料特性）变量与真实口腔加工行为之间的关系。制备了三种κ-卡拉胶水凝胶（κC），它们在断裂力学和口腔摩擦学性能上有所不同：天然κC、添加了 Na-藻酸盐的κC 和添加了 300 μm Ca-藻酸盐珠的 κC 基质。使用一组 28 名未经训练的消费者使用非侵入性技术（最大咬合力和舌压）测量了一种综合的进食能力（EC）得分。使用相同的参与者，通过逐帧视频分析分析了口腔加工行为（咀嚼次数、口腔停留时间和咀嚼率）。结果发现，EC 评分与任何口腔加工行为都没有相关性。咀嚼次数和口腔停留时间与口腔相关速度（10-100mm/s）下的断裂力和摩擦力呈强相关性，而咀嚼率与这些特性没有差异。本研究的结果表明，健康成年人的口腔加工主要由食品材料特性驱动，咀嚼率似乎与个体差异和 EC 比与食品特性更相关。本研究使用模型水凝胶提供的见解有助于促进对健康个体口腔加工行为的了解；可以弥合消费者科学、心理学和食品科学之间的差距；并可能引起产品开发人员的兴趣，他们希望设计具有宜人质地特性的食品。
