抄録
Effects of aging and gender on taste sensitivity were assessed by measuring detection and recognition thresholds of sodium chloride, sucrose, and citric acid. Also, relationship between each taste sensitivity and food preference was examined. The subjects were 22 males and 32 females aged over 65 and 54males and 54 females aged around 20. A significant overall effect of aging on the taste sensitivity was found. The elderly people showed statistically significant higher detection thresholds for sodium chloride and citric acid and recognition thresholds for sucrose and citric acid than the young ones. There was also a gender effect on the sensitivity for citric acid; the elderly males were less sensitive than the elderly females. All threshold values analyzed by probit method, except in the detection threshold for sucrose, were the following; young females, young males, elderly females and elderly males, arranged in ascending order. It was recognized that the subjects who were less sensitive to sodium chloride, preferred salty foods such as “tsukemono” or “shiokara” more than those with high sensitivity. No relation was found between food preference and taste sensitivity.
