A secret of salivary secretions: Multimodal effect of saliva in sensory perception of food

Abstract

Saliva plays multifunctional roles in oral cavity. Even though its importance for the maintenance of oral health has long been established, the role of saliva in food perception has attracted increasing attention in recent years. We encourage researchers to discover the peculiarity of this biological fluid and aim to combine the data concerning all aspects of the saliva influence on the sensory perception of food. This review presents saliva as a unique material, which modulates food perception due to constant presence of saliva in the mouth and thanks to its composition. Therefore, we highlight the salivary components that contribute to these effects. Moreover, this review is an attempt to structure the effects of saliva on perception of different food categories, where the mechanisms of salivary impact in perception of liquid, semi-solid, and solid foods are revealed. Finally, we emphasize that the large interindividual variability in salivary composition and secretion appear to contribute to the fact that everyone experiences food in their own way. Therefore, the design of the sensory studies should consider the properties of volunteers' saliva and also carefully monitor the experimental conditions that affect salivary composition and flow rate.

Effect of Hogweed Pectin on Rheological, Mechanical, and Sensory Properties of Apple Pectin Hydrogel

“…As known, the incorporation of saliva into a bolus while chewing transforms the initial value of moisture content in solid or semisolid foods to prepare a ready-to-swallow bolus in the mouth [ 37 ]. A gravimetrical analysis of saliva content in the bolus formed from the PGs revealed that saliva uptake varied between 22.6 and 29.1 wt% in pectin hydrogels ( Table 5 ).…”

“…Because the compositions of the PGs were similar, serum release appeared to be a critical initial characteristic of pectin hydrogels that could affect saliva secretion during oral processing and subsequent saliva uptake into the bolus. Saliva not only hydrates the bolus but also lubricates it by lowering friction due to its watery character and the presence of salivary mucins, thereby making swallowing the bolus safe [ 37 , 40 ]. Therefore, PG5, with its low serum release (0.49%), needed more saliva incorporation to enhance lubrication than PG1 (serum release 0.66%).…”

Retronasal Aroma of Beef Pate Analyzed by a Chewing Simulator

“…This decrease in concentration of mineral salts (including inorganic salts contained in the artificial saliva) could be responsible for the decrease in the salting-out effect. However, the effect of saliva on the release of aroma compounds is complex and sometimes contradictory [ 26 ]. For example, it has been reported that the dilution effect of saliva decreased the viscosity of a product and contributed to a more intense perception [ 27 , 28 ].…”

Influence of masticatory side switch frequency on chewing mixing ability and sensory perception in adults with healthy dentitions: A randomized crossover trial

“…Furthermore, those who perceived high avor intensity also perceived a greater saliva secretion when chewing gum freestyle. Although salivary characteristics such as ow rate, composition, and buffer capacity modulate avor perception through different mechanisms, the avor stimulus itself can also regulate salivary ow and composition [24,39]. In addition, high inter-individual and intra-individual variability exists in masticatory laterality, avor perception, and salivary ow because many factors alter these behaviors and sensations [23].…”