抄録
To investigate the effects of salivation on physical properties of food bolus during mastication, the texture of the bolus and the salivation were measured in adult participants. Twenty healthy adult volunteers (mean age 28.1 yrs) masticated two test foods (B, white bread; S, fish sausage). The food bolus was collected at three different stages of mastication, early stage (E), middle stage (M) and late stage (L, just before swallowing). The texture of the bolus was measured according to the texture profile analysis. The salivary ability in each participant was estimated the volume of saliva while chewing a dental cotton ball for 2 minutes. Hardness of two test food bolus (B and G boluses) decreased during mastication. Adhesiveness of the B bolus had maximum value at the M stage. However, adhesiveness of the S bolus showed the following two characteristics. In ten participants, it increased from the M stage to the L stage (increased group). While, it had a maximum value at the M stage in the other ten participants (decreased group). The mean volume of saliva in the decreased group (5.16 ml) was significantly higher than that in the increased group (2.56 ml). These findings suggest that the volume of salivation may influence the adhesiveness depending on the type of food bolus during mastication. [J Physiol Sci. 2007;57 Suppl:S245]
