Schiffman S S, Lindley M G, Clark T B, Makino C
Neurobiol Aging. 1981 Fall;2(3):173-85. doi: 10.1016/0197-4580(81)90018-x.
Taste detection thresholds for 11 sweeteners varying widely in chemical structure were determined for young and elderly subjects. The rank orders of the thresholds for young and elderly were highly correlated (Spearman's rho=0.976) although the thresholds were 2.72 times higher on the average for the elderly when compared with the young. This decreased sensitivity was statistically highly significant, p=0.000266. Sweeteners with the lowest detection thresholds tended to have the greatest number of units (AH-B systems) capable of intermolecular hydrogen bonding. In addition, use of the method of magnitude estimation with 10 sweeteners revealed that the elderly perceived less growth in intensity with increasing concentration than young subjects. The slopes of the psychophysical functions relating concentration and perceived intensity were flatter in all cases for elderly subjects; the mean ratio, slope(young)/slope(elderly), was 2.06. The largest relative decline in slope was found for those stimuli with the greatest number of possible AH-B types, suggesting that the possibilities for concerted intermolecular hydrogen bonding may decline with age. If the elderly compensate for their diminished taste acuity with increased consumption, they may constitute a population with higher than average risk of any adverse dose-related biological effects of artificial sweeteners.
我们测定了11种化学结构差异很大的甜味剂对年轻和老年受试者的味觉检测阈值。尽管老年人的阈值平均比年轻人高2.72倍，但年轻人和老年人阈值的排序高度相关（斯皮尔曼等级相关系数ρ = 0.976）。这种敏感性降低在统计学上具有高度显著性，p = 0.000266。检测阈值最低的甜味剂往往具有能够进行分子间氢键结合的单元（AH-B系统）数量最多。此外，对10种甜味剂使用量级估计法表明，与年轻受试者相比，老年人随着浓度增加感受到的强度增长较小。在所有情况下，老年受试者中浓度与感知强度之间的心理物理学函数斜率都更平缓；平均比率，斜率（年轻）/斜率（老年），为2.06。对于可能的AH-B类型数量最多的那些刺激物，斜率的相对下降最大，这表明分子间协同氢键结合的可能性可能会随着年龄增长而降低。如果老年人通过增加摄入量来弥补其味觉敏锐度的下降，他们可能构成一个人群，其人工甜味剂任何与剂量相关的不良生物学效应的风险高于平均水平。
