(PL6) From eating to liking: Saliva, the missing link

Abstract

abstract of plenary talkDuring the experience of eating, saliva is the first fluid meeting the food introduced into the mouth. During mastication, saliva and food interact strongly and mix together to form the bolus. The contribution. of saliva to the final volume of the bolus can even be higher than the volume of the food itself. It is. therefore not the food itself that is perceived when consumed but the mixture of food and saliva. However, the role of saliva in perception is not totally elucidated yet. Saliva plays various roles in food perception. First of all, it allows the release of taste and aroma. compounds from the food matrix in the oral cavity. Availability of these compounds for perception. depends in particular on the volume and the physico-chemical properties of the fluid (viscosity, pH…). In. addition, saliva contains enzymes targeted against macronutrients. These activities (amylolytic, lipolytic. and proteolytic) may have direct impacts on food matrix degradation and may be implicated in taste or. flavour compounds release. Finally, saliva also contains molecules that can be directly perceived such as. salts for instance. It is important to notice that variability in human saliva composition is high. It can be inter-individual. variability linked to genetic or lifestyle factors and intra-individual variability linked to circadian and. seasonal rhythms or to the nature and the intensity of a sensory stimulation. Such variability is also. common in sensory perception. So, considering the role of saliva in perception, an interesting challenge is. to establish a possible link between saliva composition, perception and acceptability of food. The aim of this lecture is to explore whether saliva composition contributes to the variability of sensory. taste and flavour perception, or even to liking