抄録
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the texture of food using biomechanical data gathered during mastication. An experiment was performed with seventeen test subjects, who were also requested to fill out a questionnaire on texture, in order to measure load, pressure, sound and muscular activity during mastication of six different foods. It was found that the maximum mastication pressure and mastication sound (an integral value of the power spectrum of 101 Hz-200Hz) is linked to the sensation of hardness, one of three parameters of texture for this study: hardness, stickiness and elasticity. It was also found that a relative correspondence was observed between stickiness and the activity of the masticatory muscle. The maximum masticatory load of a human being, on the other hand, was not found to have any relation with the three parameters of texture, and thus was not appropriate for presuming texture. Another result was that the destructive load of food, which can be obtained most easily from general mechanical measurements, may be appropriate for presuming the sensation of hardness, but does not correspond to stickiness or elasticity, the other subjective factors that comprise texture. These results led to the conclusion that the maximum mastication pressure, the activity of the masticatory muscle and masticatory sound are biological data that can more adequately represent texture.
