Measurement of Palatal Pressure during Mastication of Various Sol and Gel Foods

—Estimation of Hardness of Food Suitable for People with Difficulty Chewing—

Abstract

The palatal pressure while eating and swallowing various sol, gel and jelly samples was measured with six transducers embedded in an artificial palate fixed to the human hard palate. Subjects were three women in their twenties. The palatal pressure pulses of various foods at the first stroke of mastication were compared. In the cases of sol and gel foods on the market for people with chewing difficulty and dysphagic persons, the palatal pressure pulse pattern at the first stroke of mastication showed a nearly simple compression pattern, and the maximum palatal pressure of the pulse was 1-3×10⁴ Pa. However, the first palatal pressure patterns of the four kinds of jellies, gelatin, agar, carrageenan and gellan gels, with various concentrations gave multi-break points, showing a characteristic pattern for each gel. The maximum palate pressure of the low concentration gels (concentrations of 1.0% gelatin, 0.6% agar, 3.5% carrageenan and 0.15% gellan or less) were smaller than 3×10⁴ Pa. This concentration, for each gel, was suggested as suitable for people with chewing difficulty.