Effect of flavour enhancers on the occurrence of sensory-specific satiety in humans depending on their sex and age

The study was aimed at determining the effect of flavour enhancers on the occurrence of sensory-specific satiety (SSS) phenomenon in young and elderly people of both sexes. Investigations involved a group of 60 subjects (30 young and 30 elderly ones, 15 women and men in each group) who rated the pleasantness of instant products with various sensory properties (pasta with Bolognese sauce, lemon gelatin dessert, fruit semolina) before and after ad libitum consumption of pasta with Bolognese sauce without and with the addition of flavour enhancers (sodium monoglutamate, sodium inosinate and a mixture of sodium inosinate and sodium guanylate). A significant effect (p less 0.001) of age on the development of SSS was demonstrated in the study, yet only in the case of young people. The addition of flavour enhancers to pasta with Bolognese sauce intensified the occurrence of sensory-specific satiety, however that effect appeared to depend on the sex of the examined and was distinctly higher in women than in men. It was also demonstrated that in the elderly the feeling of satiety occurred at a relatively lower intake of pasta with Bolognese sauce as compared to the young people and the addition of flavour enhancers had no significant effect on the content of energy ingested with a meal in both sex groups