Validation of rapid descriptive sensory methods against conventional descriptive analyses: A systematic review.

A major drawback of conventional descriptive profile (CDP) in sensory evaluation is the long time spent in panel training. Rapid descriptive methods (RDM) have increased significantly. Some of them have been compared with CDP for validation. In Health Sciences, systematic reviews (SR) are performed to evaluate validation of diagnostic tests in relation to a gold standard method. SR present a well-defined protocol to summarize research evidence and to evaluate the quality of the studies with determined criteria. We adapted SR protocol to evaluate the validation of RDM against CDP as satisfactory procedures to obtain food characterization. We used "Population Intervention Comparison Outcome Study - PICOS" framework to design the research in which "Population" was food/ beverages; "intervention" were RDM, "Comparison" was CDP as gold standard, "Outcome" was the ability of RDM to generate similar descriptive profiles in comparison with CDP and "Studies" was sensory descriptive analyses. The proportion of studies concluding for similarity of the RDM with CDP ranged from 0% to 100%. Low and moderate risk of bias were reached by 87% and 13% of the studies, respectively, supporting the conclusions of SR. RDM with semi-trained assessors and evaluation of individual attributes presented higher percentages of concordance with CDP.

Pre-harvest factors related to sensory profile of Passiflora setacea nectars, a wild passion fruit from Brazilian savannah.

BACKGROUND: Passiflora setacea DC. is a passion fruit species native from Brazilian savannah characterized by naturally sweet sensory characteristics. The sensory quality of the pulp can be affected by the growing environment. The effect of training systems (trellis or espalier), seasons (the weather conditions in periods of drought and rain) and addition of seeds to the juice (25%) were evaluated, with emphasis on the sensory quality of P. setacea nectars. RESULTS: Training systems of P. setacea plantation did not influence flavor or aroma of nectars. Season had an effect on texture attributes. Although training system and season had impact on pH, total soluble solid (TSS) content, titratable acidity (TA), polyphenolics and condensed tannins content, these environment factors had no influence on acceptance. Seeds addition had a negative effect on overall liking. Frequency of consumption of passion fruit and functional food did not influence nectar preference whereas being neophilic or having higher level of knowledge about functional foods favored greater acceptance of P. setacea nectars. CONCLUSION: Passiflora setacea nectar is a potential functional beverage, due its bioactive contents. Training system and season had no influence on acceptance as isolated factors. However, there was an interaction between these factors, which could be considered to market projection, as well as the addition of seeds. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Sensory impact of lowering sugar content in orange nectars to design healthier, low-sugar industrialized beverages.

The presence of added sugars (AS) in the diet is associated with increased risk of obesity and other chronic diseases. We assessed sensory impact of lowering AS in orange nectar, aiming at new WHO sugar guideline. Ideal sweetness by just-about-right (JAR) tests (60 consumers), difference and rejection thresholds (36 and 35 assessors), and acceptance and sensory profile by Check-all-that-apply (CATA) tests (100 consumers) were performed. JAR test comprised six concentrations of AS from 12% down to 4.5%. Thresholds tests comprised orange nectars at reference sugar concentration (10%) and at lower sugar levels. Acceptance and CATA tests compared reference, ideal sweetness and thresholds concentrations. There were two groups of consumers; one with ideal sweetness lower at 5.5% AS and another with ideal sweetness at standard 10.5% AS. The average ideal sweetness among all consumers was 7.3% AS. The difference threshold from the reference at 10.5% AS was at 8.5% AS and the rejection threshold was 7.2%. Overall acceptance of nectar with 8.5% and 7.2% AS was similar to reference and higher than acceptance of nectar with 5.5%. However, after cluster analysis, nectars with 5.5% AS did not differ from nectars with 8.5% or 7.2% AS, suggesting the possibility of a gradual reduction until 5.5% in the long term. Lowering AS to 7.2% or 5.5% caused significant changes in viscosity, sweet odor, bitterness and sweetness in comparison to the reference concentration. Lowering sugar from 10% to 8.5% did not affect acceptance or sensory attributes, and could be indicated for a first reduction. Results indicate that a gradual reduction to 7.2% and 5.5% would be feasible. Reductions can remove 3150-9450 tons of sugar per year from the Brazilian diet resulting in healthier beverages.

Eating quality of meat from six lamb breed types raised in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Breed or genotype is important to consider for developing appropriate eating quality in lamb. The objectives of this study were to compare physical and chemical parameters and sensory acceptance of longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle from six lamb breed types economically important to the Brazilian sheep-raising chain. RESULTS: No difference (P > 0.05) among samples was found in relation to L(*) , a(*) and b(*) parameters. However, differences were detected in shear force for the LL muscle produced by different breeds (P < 0.05), where animals without definite breed (WDB) showed higher shear force, whereas the lowest levels were observed for breed Hampshire Down, followed by Ile de France and the Dorper/Santa Inês cross-breed (Dorper/SI). In relation to sensory acceptance, no difference (P > 0.05) was detected in aroma attribute for all breed types tested. For the attributes texture, juiciness, flavor and overall quality, differences were detected (P < 0.05), Dorper/SI, Hampshire Down and Suffolk cross breeds received the best scores, while Santa Inês received intermediate evaluations, and Ile de France and WDB were the least accepted. CONCLUSION: Under the conditions evaluated in this study, meat from Dorper/SI and Hampshire Down cross-breeds showed better eating quality, satisfying most consumers.

Antioxidants and sensory properties of the infusions of wild passiflora from Brazilian savannah: potential as functional beverages.

BACKGROUND: The study of biodiversity for species recovery and sustainable use has encouraged research with plants from Brazilian savannah. We aimed to characterize chemical and sensory properties of infusions of passifloras, due to their potential as functional beverages. Infusions and hydroalcoholic extracts of four species of wild passifloras, three varieties of Passiflora edulis and a commercial passiflora tea were evaluated for total phenolics (TPs), total flavonoids (TFs), condensed tannins (CTs), and antioxidant activity (DPPH and FRAP). Free-choice Profile and acceptance, compared with green tea, were performed for sensory characterization. RESULTS: In general, infusions had higher levels of TPs and CTs than hydroalcoholic extracts, which in turn had higher levels of TFs. Infusion of P. nitida showed higher amounts of TPs and antioxidant activity. Acceptance of passiflora infusions was similar or higher than that of green tea, except for P. alata. P. setacea presented a sensory profile similar to other commercial teas and higher acceptance by a group of consumers. CONCLUSION: Passiflora infusions showed different degrees of suitability as acceptable functional beverage. Identification of phenolics and other bitter compounds is needed to understand the intense bitterness of P. alata, as it did not present the highest contents of TPs, CTs and TFs.

Volatilome, Microbial, and Sensory Profiles of Coffee Leaf and Coffee Leaf-Toasted Maté Kombuchas.

Kombucha is a fermented beverage traditionally made from the leaves of Camelia sinensis. The market has drastically expanded recently, and the beverage has become more elaborated with new, healthy food materials and flavors. Pruning and harvesting during coffee production may generate tons of coffee leaves that are discarded although they contain substantial amounts of bioactive compounds, including those found in maté tea and coffee seeds. This study characterized the changes in volatilome, microbial, and sensory profiles of pure and blended arabica coffee leaf tea kombuchas between 3-9 days of fermentation. Acceptance was also evaluated by consumers from Rio de Janeiro (n = 103). Kombuchas (K) were prepared using black tea kombucha starter (BTKS) (10%), sucrose (10%), a symbiotic culture of Bacteria and Yeasts (SCOBY) (2.5%), and a pure coffee leaf infusion (CL) or a 50:50 blend with toasted maté infusion (CL-TM) at 2.5%. The RATA test was chosen for sensory profile characterization. One hundred volatile organic compounds were identified when all infusions and kombucha samples were considered. The potential impact compounds identified in CL K and CL-TM K were: methyl salicylate, benzaldehyde, hexanal, nonanal, pentadecanal, phenylethyl-alcohol, cedrol, 3,5-octadien-2-one, ß-damascenone, α-ionone, ß-ionone, acetic acid, caproic acid, octanoic acid, nonanoic acid, decanoic acid, isovaleric acid, linalool, (S)-dihydroactinidiolide, isoamyl alcohol, ethyl hexanoate, and geranyl acetone. Aroma and flavor descriptors with higher intensities in CL K included fruity, peach, sweet, and herbal, while CL-TM K included additional toasted mate notes. The highest mean acceptance score was given to CL-TM K and CL K on day 3 (6.6 and 6.4, respectively, on a nine-point scale). Arabica coffee leaf can be a co-product with similar fingerprinting to maté and black tea, which can be explored for the elaboration of potentially healthy fermented beverages in food industries.

Acceptance of health-promoting Brassica vegetables: the influence of taste perception, information and attitudes.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relative importance of specific health knowledge and taste on acceptance of Brassica vegetables (broccoli, red and green cabbages, broccolini, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts). DESIGN: In a sample of adults all reporting medium-high physical activity (as a marker/control of health behaviour) and reporting either low (≤2 portions/d) or high (≥3 portions/d) vegetable intake, half of those with low vegetable consumption (Li group) and half of those with high vegetable consumption (Hi group) received cancer protection information, while the other half did not (Ln and Hn groups), before hedonic (9-point), perceived taste and flavour impact responses (100 mm scales) to samples of six Brassica vegetables were elicited. Additionally, attitudes towards foods for health, pleasure and reward, sociodemographics, intentions to consume the vegetables in the near future and recall of health information were also measured. SUBJECTS: Adult males and females (n 200) aged 18-55 years. SETTING: Central location testing, Adelaide, Australia. RESULTS: Information groups Li and Hi reported specific cancer protection information knowledge, in contrast to Ln and Hn groups (P < 0·000). Information independently influenced responses to (the least liked) Brussels sprouts only. Multivariate regression analysis found sensory perception tended to predict liking and intentions to consume Brassica vegetables. For example, broccoli hedonics (adjusted R 2 = 0·37) were predicted (P < 0·05) by bitterness (ß = -0·38), flavour (ß = 0·31), sweetness (ß = 0·17) and female gender (ß = 0·19) and intentions to consume (adjusted R 2 = 0·20) were predicted (P < 0·05) by bitterness (ß = -0·38), flavour (ß = 0·24), female gender (ß = 0·20) and vegetable intake (ß = 0·14). CONCLUSIONS: Addressing taste dimensions (while retaining healthy compounds) may be more important than promoting health information in order to increase the popularity of Brassica vegetables.

Comparison of two rapid descriptive sensory techniques for profiling and screening of drivers of liking of sorghum breads.

Rapid descriptive methods have emerged as a relatively simple alternative for screening the sensory attributes of products that drive their liking, and may contribute to identify sorghum genotypes with potential for development of gluten-free breads with higher consumer acceptance. Two rapid techniques, Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) and Optimized Descriptive Profile (ODP), were herein compared on their ability to describe, discriminate and identify the drivers of liking of sorghum breads. Gluten-free bread formulations were developed using flours from selected sorghum genotypes (CMSS005, BR 501, BRS 332, BRS 330, BRS 305 and 1167048), besides commercial sorghum and rice flours. A semi-trained panel (n = 18) evaluated the samples using the ODP method, whereas consumers (n = 124) completed the CATA questionnaire and rated the liking in a 9-point hedonic scale. A total of 24 and 11 sensory descriptors were perceived by assessors as different among samples for CATA and ODP, respectively, with color and appearance-related attributes critical to discriminate samples in CATA, whereas flavor and texture descriptors had also prominent contribution in ODP. A similar pattern of sample distribution was noticed for both methods, which were shown to be highly and positively correlated (RV = 0.92, p < 0.002). Genotypes influenced the consumer perception of sorghum breads, being the BRS 332 and the CMSS005 breads among the most and the least accepted samples for either consumer segment, respectively. While 10 drivers of liking were identified by CATA, including 'appearance of whole flour breads', 'uniform alveoli', 'neutral flavor' and 'soft aroma', in ODP 'crumb color', 'crust color', 'spots' and 'traditional bread aroma' drove bread acceptance. In summary, both methods were successfully applied and provided similar pattern of sample discrimination, whereas the attributes used for sample characterization, as well as those identified as drivers of liking were generally different. The ODP offers a simpler option for a quantitative perspective, while CATA remains as an easy method considering qualitative aspects, being clearly faster than ODP.

Discrimination of sensory attributes by trained assessors and consumers in semi-sweet hard dough biscuits and their drivers of liking and disliking.

Descriptive methods are traditionally performed with trained assessors to objectively analyze products, since consumers have long been considered incapable of performing such tests because they are influenced by hedonic evaluations. However, in the last decades, there have been alternative descriptive tests performed by consumers, due to other advantages, such as a rapid sensory profile assessment, reducing cost and time, and Check-all-that-apply (CATA) is an example. Thus, the objective of this work was to compare the performance of trained assessors (n = 15) and consumers using quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) - traditional method and CATA - alternative method (n = 161 consumers, including acceptance test as well), for 5 samples of semi-sweet hard dough biscuit with different contents of specific ingredients: fructose (0.0 to 6.0%), vanilla aroma (0.0 to 1.2%) and water (9.0 to 13.8%). Results showed that the number of attributes in which trained assessors perceived significant differences was marginally higher (p < .1) than consumers. For smaller formulation differences, trained assessors perceived more (p < .01) attributes presenting significant differences (10) than consumers (2). The sample discrimination presented the same pattern, however trained assessors had greater discriminative power than consumers, i.e., they discriminated samples in more difference levels. The description of the samples was not similar between the methods. The QDA and CATA assessors used different attributes to describe the samples, which reflected in different drivers of liking and disliking if descriptive data come from trained assessors or from consumers. It is concluded that the choice of performing descriptive tests with trained assessors or consumers depends on the purpose of the study.

Estesioneuroblastoma: relatos de casos e revisão de literatura / Esthesioneuroblastoma: Case Reports and Literature Review

O estesioneuroblastoma (ENB) é uma neoplasia rara que atinge o neuroepitélio olfativo, comumente invadindo os seios paranasais, a base do crânio e a região orbitária. Apresenta metástase em 10 a 30 % dos casos. Distribui-se de forma bimodal para a idade, principalmente dos 11 aos 20 anos e dos 51 aos 60 anos, sem influência do sexo e raça do indivíduo. A ínfima quantidade de casos relatados resulta em dúvidas quanto ao melhor tratamento a ser dispensado ao paciente. Relatamos três casos, todos Kadish C, tornando o tratamento e o prognóstico um desafio à prática neurocirúrgica.

The esthesioneuroblastoma (ENB) is a rare neoplasm that affects the olfactory neuroepithelium, commonly invading the paranasal sinuses, skull base and the orbital region. Shows metastasis in 10% to 30% of cases. Distributed in a bimodal shape for the age, from 11 to 20 years and 51 to 60 years especially, with no influence of gender and race of the individual. The tiny amount of reported cases result in doubt about the best treatment to be dispensed to the patient. We report three cases, all Kadish C, making treatment and prognosis a challenge to neurosurgery.