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Flavour perception
Author(s) -
THOMSON D. M. H.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
nutrition bulletin
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.933
H-Index - 40
eISSN - 1467-3010
pISSN - 1471-9827
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-3010.1984.tb01299.x
Subject(s) - flavour , taste , appetite , food science , perception , sensory system , flavor , chemistry , psychology , medicine , neuroscience , endocrinology
Summary Flavour is a product of perception and is, thus, a sensory rather than a physical or chemical phenomenon. It is largely the combination of taste (salt, sweet, bitter, acid), perceived when the gustatory receptor cells located on the tongue are stimulated, and odour, perceived when any of 17,000different volatile chemicals enter the nasal cavity and interact with the olfactory receptor cells. However, pain, heat, cold, tactile and other sensations also contribute to flavour. One manifestation of appetite is change in the perceived pleasantness of flavour during food consumption, and this may influence the amount eaten. Appetite is flavour‐specific to some extent, which encourages variety in food intake and hence the acquisition of a range of nutrients. Flavour pleasantness may also be important in the regulation of weight control. For these reasons, flavour must be taken into account when considering nutritional aspects of diets.