Modification of bitter taste in children

Abstract

The palatability of oral medications, many of which are quite bitter, plays an important role in achieving compliance in pediatric patients. We tested the hypothesis that the addition of a sodium salt to some, but not all, bitter tasting liquids enhances acceptance and reduces the perceived bitterness in 7- to 10-year-old children and their mothers. For both children and adults, sodium gluconate significantly suppressed the perceived bitterness and enhanced the acceptance of urea and caffeine whereas the reverse was true for another bitter stimulus, Tetralone. Because children preferred salted solutions more than did adults, these data suggest that the use of sodium salts may be an especially effective strategy for reducing the bitterness of some medicines and facilitating compliance among pediatric populations. However, based on sodium's differential ability to inhibit bitterness, as has been shown here with children and adults, clearly each drug of interest must be evaluated separately.

Age-Related Differences in Bitter Taste and Efficacy of Bitter Blockers

“…Consistent with previous studies in adults [8] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] , the ability of sodium salts to block bitter taste is compound specific and, as we show for the first time here, also specific to the age of the subject. In general, if the blocker worked for a given bitter in children, it also worked for adults, but not vice versa—in no case did a blocker work for children but not for adults.…”

Age-Related Differences in Bitter Taste and Efficacy of Bitter Blockers

“…Consistent with previous studies in adults [8] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] , the ability of sodium salts to block bitter taste is compound specific and, as we show for the first time here, also specific to the age of the subject. In general, if the blocker worked for a given bitter in children, it also worked for adults, but not vice versa—in no case did a blocker work for children but not for adults.…”

The Influence of Sodium Salts on Binary Mixtures of Bitter-tasting Compounds

“…Not only do Na + salts fail to suppress the bitterness of TET, but one Na + salt, NaGlc, significantly enhanced the bitterness of TET. This supports a recent finding by Mennella et al, (2003) who reported that the preference for TET was decreased when it was mixed with NaGlc, suggesting that Na + may increase the bitterness of TET. We suggest that Na + ions may generally enhance the bitterness of TET regardless of the associated anion.…”

Effect of sensory education on food preferences in children

“…Note that, contrary to our expectation, the children did not prefer the sweetest variants in the compotes when they were presented at a same level of flavour complexity, and that at a same level of bitterness in drinkable yoghurts, they did not significantly prefer simpler flavour variants over complex ones. This latter observation is probably due to the children's dislike of bitterness as demonstrated elsewhere (Menella, Pepino, & Beauchamp, 2003). Thus, the earlier mentioned hypothesis according to which children without sensory education will prefer the least arousing variants is partially confirmed and the results are in accordance with Berlyne's theory (1967) on specific exploratory behaviour, which predicts a slight preference for simpler stimuli.…”

Age-Related Differences in Bitter Taste and Efficacy of Bitter Blockers

“…Consistent with previous studies in adults [8] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] , the ability of sodium salts to block bitter taste is compound specific and, as we show for the first time here, also specific to the age of the subject. In general, if the blocker worked for a given bitter in children, it also worked for adults, but not vice versa—in no case did a blocker work for children but not for adults.…”

The Influence of Sodium Salts on Binary Mixtures of Bitter-tasting Compounds

“…Not only do Na + salts fail to suppress the bitterness of TET, but one Na + salt, NaGlc, significantly enhanced the bitterness of TET. This supports a recent finding by Mennella et al, (2003) who reported that the preference for TET was decreased when it was mixed with NaGlc, suggesting that Na + may increase the bitterness of TET. We suggest that Na + ions may generally enhance the bitterness of TET regardless of the associated anion.…”

Effect of sensory education on food preferences in children

“…Note that, contrary to our expectation, the children did not prefer the sweetest variants in the compotes when they were presented at a same level of flavour complexity, and that at a same level of bitterness in drinkable yoghurts, they did not significantly prefer simpler flavour variants over complex ones. This latter observation is probably due to the children's dislike of bitterness as demonstrated elsewhere (Menella, Pepino, & Beauchamp, 2003). Thus, the earlier mentioned hypothesis according to which children without sensory education will prefer the least arousing variants is partially confirmed and the results are in accordance with Berlyne's theory (1967) on specific exploratory behaviour, which predicts a slight preference for simpler stimuli.…”

Age-Related Differences in Bitter Taste and Efficacy of Bitter Blockers

“…Consistent with previous studies in adults [8] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] , the ability of sodium salts to block bitter taste is compound specific and, as we show for the first time here, also specific to the age of the subject. In general, if the blocker worked for a given bitter in children, it also worked for adults, but not vice versa—in no case did a blocker work for children but not for adults.…”

The Influence of Sodium Salts on Binary Mixtures of Bitter-tasting Compounds

“…Not only do Na + salts fail to suppress the bitterness of TET, but one Na + salt, NaGlc, significantly enhanced the bitterness of TET. This supports a recent finding by Mennella et al, (2003) who reported that the preference for TET was decreased when it was mixed with NaGlc, suggesting that Na + may increase the bitterness of TET. We suggest that Na + ions may generally enhance the bitterness of TET regardless of the associated anion.…”

Effect of sensory education on food preferences in children

“…Note that, contrary to our expectation, the children did not prefer the sweetest variants in the compotes when they were presented at a same level of flavour complexity, and that at a same level of bitterness in drinkable yoghurts, they did not significantly prefer simpler flavour variants over complex ones. This latter observation is probably due to the children's dislike of bitterness as demonstrated elsewhere (Menella, Pepino, & Beauchamp, 2003). Thus, the earlier mentioned hypothesis according to which children without sensory education will prefer the least arousing variants is partially confirmed and the results are in accordance with Berlyne's theory (1967) on specific exploratory behaviour, which predicts a slight preference for simpler stimuli.…”