Effect of changing in bolus properties during mastication of starchy foods on the kuchidoke sensory characteristics

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20H01613
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 08030:Family and consumer sciences, and culture and living-related
• Research Institution: Gifu University
• Principal Investigator: Nishizu Takahisa 岐阜大学, 応用生物科学部, 教授 (40228193)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 勝野 那嘉子 岐阜大学, 応用生物科学部, 准教授 (20743892)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 食塊形成過程 / 口どけ感 / 咀嚼シミュレーター / 米菓 / 澱粉

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We developed a new method for making the artificial boluses by using the mastication simulator which was newly developed in this project and succeeded to extract the factors strongly related to the kuchidoke sensory characteristics of rice crackers by adjusting the conditions of sample preparations and the mastication conditions. The kuchidoke score of samples became better the higher the decrease rates of the average size of solid particles in the bolus, the degree of polymerization of starch. The hardness of the bolus of some samples whose kuchidoke scores were higher decreased after 15 seconds of mastication. In the initial stage of mastication large pieces are broken into small pieces, and the bolus is cohered in the oral cavity in the next stage. The principal component analysis of physical properties of the artificial boluses and sensory evaluations showed that the boluses were not cohered easily for the samples whose kuchidoke scores were higher.

Free Research Field

食品工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究で開発した咀嚼シミュレーターを用いることで，食品試料の材料や製法の違いのみならず，若年から老年までのヒトの唾液分泌量や咀嚼力の違いを実現し，咀嚼中の食塊物性の経時変化の物性測定結果から食品の咀嚼特性を考察した点に学術的意義がある．本研究の成果は食感研究に新しい知見を提供するだけでなく，特定の食感を想定した食品開発やオーラルフレイル対策の進展にも貢献するものと考える．