Division of Physiology, Kyushu Dental University, 2-6-1 Manazuru, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, 803-8580, Japan.
Section of Primary Dental Education, Kyushu Dental University, 2-6-1 Manazuru, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, 803-8580, Japan.
J Oral Biosci. 2021 Mar;63(1):91-96. doi: 10.1016/j.job.2021.01.008. Epub 2021 Jan 30.
Thickeners are frequently used in various foods, including ice cream and sauces, to impart viscosity. Generally, viscous foods have some flavor (smell and taste). In this study, we examined the effects of flavor on the oral perception and palatability of viscosity in humans.
Viscous fluids were prepared by adding the commercial thickener Tsururinko® (0.5 and 3.0%) to water and apple juice, which were used as the control and flavor fluids, respectively. The viscosity and palatability perception of the test fluids were evaluated in nine healthy volunteers using a visual analog scale. In the other seven volunteers, fluid viscosities were measured before and after spitting following retention in the mouth for 5 s to investigate the dilution of viscous fluids by flavor-stimulated saliva.
With 1.5% Tsururinko®, there was no difference between the physical viscosity of water and apple juice, but the perceived viscosity of apple juice was significantly lower than that of water. With 3.0% Tsururinko®, the viscosity of apple juice was significantly higher than that of water, but the perceived viscosities did not differ significantly. The addition of Tsururinko® reduced palatability in water in a dose-dependent manner. Apple juice suppressed this Tsururinko®-induced reduction. The reduction in viscosity after spitting was significantly larger in apple juice than in water.
Our results suggest that a favorable flavor reduces the perception of oral viscosity, which is due to mixing with stimulated saliva, and suppresses the unpalatability of thickeners.
增稠剂常用于各种食品中，包括冰淇淋和酱汁，以增加其粘度。通常，粘性食品具有一定的风味（气味和味道）。在这项研究中，我们研究了风味对人类口腔感知和口感粘稠度的影响。
通过向水和苹果汁中添加商用增稠剂 Tsururinko®（0.5%和 3.0%）来制备粘性液体，分别用作对照和风味液体。使用视觉模拟量表评估 9 位健康志愿者对测试液体的粘性和口感感知。在另外 7 位志愿者中，在口中保留 5 秒后吐出后，测量粘性液体的粘度，以研究风味刺激的唾液对粘性液体的稀释作用。
在 1.5% Tsururinko®下，水和苹果汁的物理粘度没有差异，但苹果汁的感知粘度明显低于水。在 3.0% Tsururinko®下，苹果汁的粘度明显高于水，但感知粘度没有显著差异。Tsururinko®的添加以剂量依赖的方式降低了水的口感。苹果汁抑制了 Tsururinko®引起的这种降低。吐出后粘度的降低在苹果汁中明显大于水。
我们的结果表明，良好的风味降低了口腔粘稠度的感知，这是由于与刺激唾液混合所致，并抑制了增稠剂的不良口感。
