No effect on intake and liking of soup enhanced with mono-sodium glutamate and celery powder among elderly people with olfactory and/or gustatory loss

• Published in: International journal of food sciences and nutrition Vol. 60; no. s5; pp. 143 - 154
• Main Authors: Essed, Natasja H., Kleikers, Suzanne, van Staveren, Wija A., Kok, Frans J., de Graaf, Cees
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Informa UK Ltd 01.01.2009; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Appetite; celery; Cooking - methods; Cross-Over Studies; Diet; dietary-intake; Effects; elderly; Female; flavor enhancement; Flavors; Food Analysis; Food Preferences; Food science; food-intake; glutamic acid; Humans; Independent Living - statistics & numerical data; intake; Male; Middle Aged; mono-sodium glutamate; monosodium glutamate; Netherlands; nursing-home residents; nutrition; nutritional-status; odor perception; Older people; Olfaction Disorders; Olfactory and gustatory loss; palatability; people; Sensation; Severity of Illness Index; Single-Blind Method; Smell; Sodium Glutamate - administration & dosage; Soups; Spices; Taste; Taste Disorders; taste perception; threshold-sensitivity; tomatoes; young subjects; Netherlands
• ISSN: 0963-7486; 1465-3478; 1465-3478
• DOI: 10.1080/09637480802710216

Mono-sodium glutamate (MSG) and/or flavors may improve palatability and intake in elderly people. Whether this improvement is related to a decline in chemosensory sensitivity is unclear. We examined the effect of flavor-enhanced tomato soup (1,200 mg/l MSG (0.12% MSG) + 3 g/l celery powder) versus non-enhanced soup on intake and liking in 120 older adults (72±6 years). Olfactory and gustatory performance was measured. For the whole group, no difference in intake (198 g vs. 203 g) (P =0.97), liking (6.6 vs. 6.7) (P =0.99) and strength (7.2 vs. 7.2) (P =0.76) between the soups was found. Intake (P =0.52), liking (P =0.90) and strength (P =1.00) between the soups were not different within the low olfactory/low gustatory group. Intake and liking of the flavor-enhanced soup was not increased within elderly with low chemosensory sensitivity. Enhancing flavors to increase intake and liking may not be a uniform approach due to the heterogeneity in chemosensory losses among elderly people.