Physical Properties of the Biscuit Which can be Easily Triturated during Mastication

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify the difference of physical properties of two types of biscuits: Bi, with normal nutrient contents, and PBi, with less protein to be easily triturated during mastication than Bi. Ten healthy adults (mean 28.1 ± 13.5 yrs) participated in this study. They masticated each biscuit until swallowing as usual. The bolus was collected at three different stages of mastication (after five chewing strokes, E stage; the halfway stage of mastication, M stage; immediately prior to swallowing, L stage). The texture of collected bolus was measured according to the texture profile analysis.
The number of chewing strokes until swallowing of the PBi was significantly smaller than that of the Bi. The hardness of both boluses ecreased significantly during mastication. The adhesiveness of the Bi bolus increased significantly from the E to L stage, while that of the PBi bolus remained unchanged. The cohesiveness of the Bi bolus increased significantly from the E to stage and the M to L stage, whereas that of the PBi bolus increased significantly only from the M to L stage. At the L stage, though the hardness and adhesiveness of the Bi bolus were higher than those of the PBi bolus, the cohesiveness of the Bi bolus was lower than that of the PBi bolus. These findings suggest that PBi is safer and easier to masticate and swallow than Bi, and so would be more suitable for elderly people and patients with dysphagia.