Agriculture and Food, CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Brisbane, Australia.
Agriculture and Food, Bioeconomy and Health, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Food Funct. 2020 Oct 21;11(10):8648-8658. doi: 10.1039/d0fo01728k.
Preparation of a bolus is a complex process with both food comminution and degree of lubrication with saliva playing an important role in a safe swallow. Swallowing disorders i.e. dysphagia, are especially present among the elderly population and often lead to choking and further health complications. The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between the perception of ease of swallowing in the elderly and the rheological parameters of particulated foods, using broccoli purees as a model system. Particulated foods can be described as a concentrated dispersion of plant particles in a fluid phase. The effect of the fluid phase (Newtonian vs. shear thinning) and dispersed phase (plant particles with different size distribution and morphology) on the rheological properties of simulated boli was studied by characterising shear viscosity, viscoelasticity, yield stress, extensional viscosity and cohesiveness. Ease of swallowing and mouthfeel were evaluated by a semi trained healthy elderly panel (n = 19, aged 61 to 81). Ease of swallowing was correlated with the presence of yield stress and extensional viscosity in the bolus, characteristic of boli with xanthan gum as the fluid phase. Although the properties of the fluid phase played a dominant role in the ease of swallowing, compared to the dispersed phase, both components played a role in the rheological properties of the bolus and the perception of ease of swallowing by the elderly panel. These results provide insights into the design of personalised foods for populations with specific needs such as those suffering from swallowing disorders.
制备团块是一个复杂的过程，食物的粉碎程度和唾液的润滑程度在安全吞咽中起着重要作用。吞咽障碍，即吞咽困难，尤其存在于老年人群中，常常导致窒息和进一步的健康并发症。本研究旨在研究老年人对吞咽的感知与颗粒状食品流变学参数之间的关系，以西兰花泥为模型系统。颗粒状食品可被描述为在流体相中浓缩分散的植物颗粒。通过研究剪切粘度、粘弹性、屈服应力、拉伸粘度和内聚性来研究流体相（牛顿型与剪切稀化型）和分散相（具有不同粒径分布和形态的植物颗粒）对模拟团块流变特性的影响。通过半训练的健康老年小组（n = 19，年龄 61 至 81 岁）评估吞咽的难易程度和口感。吞咽的难易程度与团块中屈服应力和拉伸粘度的存在相关，这是含有黄原胶作为流体相的团块的特征。尽管流体相的性质在吞咽的难易程度中起着主导作用，但与分散相相比，这两个成分都在团块的流变特性和老年小组对吞咽难易程度的感知中发挥作用。这些结果为设计针对特定需求人群（如吞咽障碍患者）的个性化食品提供了深入了解。
