A TIME INTENSITY STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF OIL MOUTHCOATINGS ON TASTE PERCEPTION

Time - intensity measures were used to assess the effects of mouthcoat ings of sunflower or coconut oils versus water on subsequent perceptio n of intensity of sucrose, NaCl, citric acid and quinine sulphate in g elatin gels. Panel mean curves for each stimulus were produced and com pared by means of a new averaging method. In general, both oils reduce d maximum intensity and suppressed responses on a number of other time and intensity measures. Compared to sunflower oil, coconut oil tended to have more consistent and suppressive effects on response measures. The results are discussed in relation to the time - intensity method and possible mechanisms underlying these observations.