Abstract
To investigate the effect of the temperature of the substance on how taste is experienced, sweetness intensity was measured by a sensory evaluation method for sweeteners and commercially available sweetened beverages. Sucrose, D-glucose, D-fructose, D-maltose, erythritol, xylitol, D-sorbitol and maltitol (eight types) were used as sweeteners in the present study. The number of commercial sweetened beverages tested was 11. The solution temperatures tested were 7, 25 (as standard), and 43°C. The participants were 27 healthy female students. Of the eight sweeteners, differences in sweetness intensity by temperature were found in D-fructose and xylitol but not in other sweeteners. On the other hand, among the commercial sweetened beverages tested, sweetness intensity was weaker at 7°C than at 25°C and stronger at 43°C than at 25°C in many of the beverages. Also, significance in the main effect of temperature on sweetness intensity was not found in the sweeteners group but was found in the commercial sweetened beverages group. The commercial sweetened beverages contain components other than sweeteners, and our results indicated the need to investigate the effects of the components on perceived sweetness.
