Characterization of the Relationships Between Sleep Duration, Quality, Architecture, and Chemosensory Function in Nonobese Females.

Little is known about the relationship between sleep and chemosensation. The purpose of this study was to characterize the relationship between chemosensory function and sleep duration, quality, and architecture. A total of 56 nonobese (body mass index <30 kg/m2) female participants who denied having diagnosed sleep disorders completed testing. Sleep was measured for two nights using a single-channel (A1-A2) electroencephalogram (Zmachine). Sweet taste threshold and preference as well as olfactory threshold, recognition ability, and pleasantness ratings were evaluated. Sweet taste preference was correlated with total sleep time (TST) (P = 0.0074) as well as with the sum of rapid eye movement (REM) and stage N3/slow wave sleep (SWS) duration (P = 0.0008). Participants who slept more than the average TST or more than the average REM + SWS time preferred lower concentrations of sweetness (P = 0.041 and 0.049, respectively), than those whose sleep times fell below the means. Multiple linear regression revealed that REM and SWS predicted ~18% of the variance of sweet taste preference. These findings suggest that scientific and consumer studies related to sweet preference might benefit from screening participants for short sleep duration prior to testing.

Consumer acceptance and aroma characterization of navy bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) powders prepared by extrusion and conventional processing methods.

BACKGROUND: Food products produced with bean ingredients are gaining in popularity among consumers due to the reported health benefits. Navy bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) powder produced through extrusion can be considered as a resource-efficient alternative to conventional methods, which often involve high water inputs. Therefore, navy bean powders produced with extrusion and conventional methods were assessed for the impact of processing on consumer liking in end-use products and odor-active compounds. RESULTS: Consumer acceptance results reveal significant differences in flavor, texture and overall acceptance scores of several products produced with navy bean powder. Crackers produced with extruded navy bean powder received higher hedonic flavor ratings than those produced with commercial navy bean powder (P < 0.001). GC-O data showed that the commercial powder produced through conventional processing had much greater contents of several aliphatic aldehydes commonly formed via lipid oxidation, such as hexanal, octanal and nonanal with descriptors of 'grassy', 'nutty', 'fruity', 'dusty', and 'cleaner', compared to the extruded powder. CONCLUSION: Extrusion processed navy bean powders were preferred over commercial powders for certain navy bean powder applications. This is best explained by substantial differences in aroma profiles of the two powders that may have been caused by lipid oxidation. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Multiple Dimensions of Sweet Taste Perception Altered after Sleep Curtailment.

Short sleep duration increases preferences for high-carbohydrate and high-fat foods. It is unclear if insufficient sleep-induced changes in food preference are mediated by changes in taste perception and if these changes are related to sweetener type (sucrose or sucralose) or sweet liking phenotype. The primary objective of this study was to determine if sleep curtailment results in changes in sweet taste perception after sleep curtailment. Forty participants used a single-channel electroencephalograph to record both a habitual and curtailed night (33% reduction) of sleep at home. The following morning, multiple dimensions of sweet taste perception were measured, including preferred sweetener concentrations, patterns of sweet liking, and intensity perception over a range of concentrations. After curtailment, a significant increase in preferred concentration for both sucrose and sucralose (p < 0.001 for both) was observed. The slope of sucrose sweet liking increased after curtailment (p = 0.001). The slope of sucralose liking also increased, but this was not significant (p = 0.129). Intensity perception of the sweeteners was not altered by curtailment. Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to classify participants by sweet liking phenotype. Phenotypes were found to predict preferred sweetener concentration. These findings illustrate a possible need to control for sleep in food sensory studies and suggest a potential mechanism by which insufficient sleep can lead to excess energy intake.

The Effect of Sleep Curtailment on Hedonic Responses to Liquid and Solid Food.

It is currently unclear whether changes in sweet taste perception of model systems after sleep curtailment extend to complex food matrices. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to use a novel solid oat-based food (crisps) and oat-based beverage stimulus sweetened with sucralose to assess changes in taste perception after sleep curtailment. Forty-one participants recorded a habitual and curtailed night of sleep using a single-channel electroencephalograph. The next morning, overall sweetness, flavor, and texture liking responses to energy- and nutrient-matched oat products across five concentrations of sweetness were measured. Overall (p = 0.047) and flavor (p = 0.017) liking slopes across measured concentrations were steeper after curtailment, suggesting that sweeter versions of the oat products were liked more after sleep curtailment. Additionally, a hierarchical cluster analysis was used to classify sweet likers and non-likers. While the effect of sleep curtailment on sweet liking did not differ between sweet liking classification categories, sleep curtailment resulted in decreased texture liking in the solid oat crisps for sweet non-likers (p < 0.001), but not in the oat beverage. These findings illustrate the varied effects of sleep on hedonic response in complex food matrices and possible mechanisms by which insufficient sleep can lead to sensory-moderated increases in energy intake.