Role of saliva and oral processing in sensory perception of maltodextrin solutions

In human, food oral processing plays a role in our perception of taste, aroma and texture. This study aimed at investigating the role played by individual salivary flow rate and composition and oral mechanisms in the sensory perception of sweetened and thickened solutions. Thirty one subjects were selected with high differences in salivary flow rates and composition (protein concentration and amylase activity). They consumed twelve thickened solutions (varying independently in maltodextrin type (2), viscosity level (2) and sucrose level (3)) and rated the perceived thickness and sweetness intensities. After rating, boluses were collected in order to evaluate moistening by saliva. Residual o…

Analysis of oral breakdown of food gels using image analysis

Characterizing the dynamics of food oral breakdown is of interest to understand the temporal perception of food products. Several studies aimed at characterizing bolus properties through the determination of particle size distribution, saliva uptake and rheological properties. For soft and heterogeneous foods, it is difficult to have a description of the evolution of food breakdown in the mouth, because the concept of individual particles is not clear and the bolus texture is not always homogeneous. For this reason, it is convenient to examine the possible utilization of other analytical techniques. The present work aimed at studying the possible contribution of artificial vision for studyi…

How are macronutrient intake, BMI, ethnicity, age, and gender related to the composition of unstimulated saliva?