Psychophysical evaluation of interactive effects between sweeteners and aroma compounds

The presence of intense sweeteners in a light soft drink influences the preferences for, and the flavour profiles of these drinks to various extents, depending on the aroma and sweeteners present. In this study equisweet mixtures of sweeteners were composed at 10% Sucrose Equivalent Value. The sucrose/maltitol and sucrose/aspartame mixtures were additive, whereas equisweet binary sucrose/Na-cyclamate mixtures and ternary sucrose/aspartame/Na-cyclamate mixtures revealed synergistic effects.The synergy observed for the ternary mixture was a linear combination of the synergy of the binary mixtures. Sensory analysis (quantitative descriptive analysis) of different solutions containing sweetener mixtures and a water soluble orange aroma revealed that aspartame and Na-cyclamate both differed from sucrose on the attributes chemical and aftertaste. The addition of orange aroma levelled out the differences observed between the sweetener solutions.Instrumental analysis revealed that high sucrose concentrations changed the release of the volatile compounds, while Na-cyclamate did not show this effect. Modelling of volatile release showed that the gas/solution partition coefficient and the mass transfer coefficient are the main factors influencing the release.</p

Modeling flavor release from aqueous sucrose solutions, using mass transfer and partition coefficients

The penetration theory of interfacial mass transfer was used to model flavor release from aqueous solutions containing different concentrations of sucrose. The mass transfer coefficient and the gas/solution partition coefficient are the main factors of the model influencing the release in time. Parameters governing the isolation by a purge and trap method at mouth conditions (volume, temperature, and artificial saliva) were used in the model description of the flavor release. Viscosities of the different sucrose solutions (0-60 w/v €at 37 C were estimated, and their influence on the mass transfer coefficients was determined. The gas/solution partition coefficients for ethyl acetate, methyl butanoate, ethyl butanoate, hexanal, and octanal were measured for the different sucrose concentrations at 37 C. At lower sucrose concentrations the partition coefficient primarily controls flavor release during a purge time of 10 min, whereas at higher sucrose concentrations the influence of the mass transfer coefficient is more important

Sweetness flavour interactions in soft drinks.

Sucrose can be substituted by intense sweeteners to lower the calorie content of soft drinks. Although the sweetness is kept at the same level as much as possible, the flavour of the product often changes. This change could be due to both the mechanism of sensory perception and interactive effects of the aroma compounds. Several types of interaction and some techniques for measuring interactive effects are reviewed. An example of psychological interaction is the influence of colour on flavour. Interactions of flavour molecules with the receptor can be affected by changes in their micro-environment. Molecular interactions play a role in the release of volatile compounds from aqueous solutions; release is increased by sugars and salts, and decreased by lipids and proteins. Intense sweeteners, such as aspartame and neohesperidine dihydrochalcone, interact with volatile compounds and modify the intensities of flavour attributes. The use of combinations of intense sweeteners can solve the flavour problems encountered with single sweetener applications. A quaternary model of Beidler's mixture equation was used to describe the sweetness of a light blackcurrant soft drink, containing the intense sweeteners saccharin, cyclamate, aspartame and acesulfam-K. The perceived sweetness of the light soft drink was lower than the sweetness of the original sucrose-sweetened soft drink. A proportional enhancement of the concentrations of the intense sweeteners was utilized to meet the sweetness of this classic soft drink. Consequently, the aroma attribute strawberry increased, while the currant and sour related attributes decreased

Sweetness flavour interactions in soft drinks.

Sucrose can be substituted by intense sweeteners to lower the calorie content of soft drinks. Although the sweetness is kept at the same level as much as possible, the flavour of the product often changes. This change could be due to both the mechanism of sensory perception and interactive effects of the aroma compounds. Several types of interaction and some techniques for measuring interactive effects are reviewed. An example of psychological interaction is the influence of colour on flavour. Interactions of flavour molecules with the receptor can be affected by changes in their micro-environment. Molecular interactions play a role in the release of volatile compounds from aqueous solutions; release is increased by sugars and salts, and decreased by lipids and proteins. Intense sweeteners, such as aspartame and neohesperidine dihydrochalcone, interact with volatile compounds and modify the intensities of flavour attributes. The use of combinations of intense sweeteners can solve the flavour problems encountered with single sweetener applications. A quaternary model of Beidler's mixture equation was used to describe the sweetness of a light blackcurrant soft drink, containing the intense sweeteners saccharin, cyclamate, aspartame and acesulfam-K. The perceived sweetness of the light soft drink was lower than the sweetness of the original sucrose-sweetened soft drink. A proportional enhancement of the concentrations of the intense sweeteners was utilized to meet the sweetness of this classic soft drink. Consequently, the aroma attribute strawberry increased, while the currant and sour related attributes decreased