Presentation Details
| Individual Differences in Oral Sensitivity to Sucrose and Dairy Fat Victoria Esparza1, Catherine Peyrot des Gachons1, Amy Huang 1, Nancy Rawson 1, Paul Breslin 1, 2, Linda Flammer 1, Paul Wise 1. 1Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA.2Department of Nutritional Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA |
Abstract
Individual differences in taste and smell are associated with individual differences in food preference. Variation in sensitivity to mouthfeel has received less attention in this regard, for example mouthfeel sensations from beverages such as perceived “body” or “weight.” Toward addressing this gap, we characterized distributions of sensitivity to the mouthfeel of sucrose (in aqueous solution) and dairy fat (added to a skim milk base) by measuring replicated oral detection thresholds in 58 healthy adults, eliminating visual cues and retro-nasal olfaction. For sucrose stimuli, lactisole was added and participants rinsed with gymnema sylvestre tea to suppress sweetness. Sucrose thresholds varied widely, from 5.2% to greater than 36% w/v, with a median of 22.5% (SD = 11.5%). Thus, with reduced sensory cues most participants failed to detect concentrations in typical sodas (about 10-11% sugar). Dairy fat thresholds also varied widely, from below 0.6% to greater than 20% w/v, with a median of 3.4% (SD = 7.9%). Thus, with reduced sensory cues about half the participants failed to detect dairy fat at concentrations close to that of whole milk (about 3.25 to 3.5% dairy fat). Sucrose and dairy fat thresholds were weakly but significantly correlated, r =0.35, p=0.008, suggesting potential shared sensitivity and detection mechanisms. Taken together, our findings indicate that when sensory cues including sweet taste and retro-nasal olfaction are reduced, many individuals show limited sensitivity to oral sensation from sucrose and dairy fat at beverage-relevant concentrations. Additional research is needed to determine the underlying mechanisms of these individual differences and their role in shaping sugar and fat preferences.
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