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Texture affects liking or rejection of many foods for clinically relevant populations and the general public. Phenotypic differences in chemosensation are well documented and influence food choices, but oral touch perception is less understood. Here, we used chocolate as a model food to explore texture perception, specifically grittiness perception. In Experiment 1, the Just Noticeable Difference (JND) for particle size in melted chocolate was ~5 μm in a particle size range commonly found in commercial chocolates; as expected, the JND increased with particle size, with a Weber Fraction of ~0.17. In Experiment 2, individual differences in touch perception were explored: detection and discrimination thresholds for oral point pressure were determined with Von Frey Hairs. Discrimination thresholds varied across individuals, allowing us to separate participants into high and low sensitivity groups. Across all participants, two solid commercial chocolates (with particle sizes of 19 and 26 μm; i.e., just above the JND) were successfully discriminated in a forced-choice task. However, this was driven entirely by individuals with better oral acuity: 17 of 20 of more acute individuals correctly identified the grittier chocolate versus 12 of 24 less acute individuals. This suggests phenotypic differences in oral somatosensation can influence texture perception of foods.

Although sensory-guided product design is most traditionally used by food and beverage companies, the approach has widespread application for many other products, including pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Previously, our team used sensory methods to explore preclinical optimization of soft-gel vaginal microbicides. Past clinical trials suggest vaginal microbicides may be an effective means for women to protect themselves from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, but these microbicides will not work if they are not used due to poor acceptability. Our prior work suggests properties like firmness, size, and shape all influence women’s willingness to try soft-gel vaginal suppositories . As product insertion is part of the overall experience of using vaginal microbicides, understanding the features of vaginal applicators that appeal to women, and incorporating these insights into vaginal drug delivery systems, may also improve user adherence. Despite widespread use of vaginal applicators, there is minimal public data on women’s perceptions of and preferences for physical applicator features. Other work suggests women want vaginal applicators that are single use, pre-filled, made of plastic, and easy to use, store, and discard. Applicator attributes that may be important to women, such as length, color, or visual appeal, have not been investigated previously. The objective of this research was to understand what physical applicator attributes are appealing to women. Here, 18 commercially available applicators were evaluated by a convenience sample of women (n = 102) for overall liking and perceptions of various attributes (perceived length and width, ease-of-grip, expected ease-of-use, expected comfort inside the body, visual appeal, color liking, and environmental friendliness). Preference mapping using both liking data and attribute data showed attributes such as color, visual appeal, ease of grip, expected ease of use, and expected comfort inside the body drove higher liking ratings for applicators, while perceived length negatively affected liking. In general, plastic tampon applicators contained more positive features and were better liked relative to a cardboard tampon applicator or applicators for insertion of medicated gels or suppositories. Incorporating more desirable features into applicators meant for insertion of vaginal microbicides or other vaginal medications may improve the user experience, and possibly user adherence.

Avocado (Persea americana) seeds have been used traditionally for a number of health-related indications. Because of its high polyphenol content, we investigated the potential antioxidant and anticancer effects of a colored avocado seed extract (CASE). CASE exhibited an oxygen radical acceptance capacity value of 2012 ± 300 trolox equivalents/mg. CASE reduced lipid hydroperoxide formation in an oil-in-water emulsion (33% reduction at 500 μg/mL). CASE dose-dependently reduced the viability of human breast (MCF7), lung (H1299), colon (HT29), and prostate (LNCaP) cancer cells in vitro. The half maximal inhibitory concentrations ranged from 19 to 132 μg/mL after treatment for 48 h. CASE treatment downregulated the expression of cyclin D1 and E2 in LNCaP cells. This was associated with cell G0/G1 phase cycle arrest. CASE also dose-dependently induced apoptosis in LNCaP cells. CASE reduced nuclear translocation of nuclear factor κB, a prosurvival signal. Further studies are needed to examine these effects in in vivo models.

Despite its importance as an undesirable food texture, the phenomenon of chalkiness remains understudied. Chalky sensations presumably arise from fine particulates found in foods, but semantic overlap with other common descriptors of small particles, like gritty or sandy, is unclear. Here, we compare the usage of Chalky with related descriptors, and determine the effect of particle size, concentration, and xanthan content on Chalky ratings in a model beverage. A 23 factorial design with starch particle size (D90 = 33.8 and 64.6 µm), starch concentrations (10 and 20% w/v), and xanthan content (0.075 and 0.15% w/v) was used. Participants’ salivary flow rate was also assessed. A multi-sip taste test was performed where naïve consumers (n = 82; 39% men, 60% women; age range = 18–79 years) rated the intensity of Chalky, Powdery, Gritty, Sandy, Mouthdrying, and Residual mouthcoating at 0, 30, and 60 s after each of three consecutive sips. All attribute ratings were highly correlated, with Chalky, Powdery, and Residual Mouthcoating being more closely correlated with each other than Gritty or Sandy. Although Chalky was still reported 60 s after consumption, no evidence of build-up was found with repeated sips. A larger size and higher concentration increased Chalky ratings, with the low-salivary-flow group reporting greater ratings for Chalky relative to the high-flow group. Our results suggest consumer percepts of small particles are overlapping but not entirely redundant. This suggests researchers and product developers should carefully distinguish between these descriptors when trying to understand consumer perception of food products containing fine particles.

Regarding cross-modality research, taste-aroma interaction is one of the most studied areas of research. Some studies have reported enhancement of sweetness by aroma, although it is unclear as to whether these effects actually occur: depending on the cognitive strategy employed by panelists, the effects may disappear, e.g., forcing panelists into an analytical strategy to control for dumping may not be able to reveal perceptual interactions. Previous studies have largely focused on solutions and model foods, and did not test stimuli or concentrations relevant to real food applications. This study addresses these gaps: 18 vanilla flavored sucrose milks, varying between 0–0.75% (w/w) two-fold vanilla, and 0–5% (w/w) sucrose, were rated by 108 panelists for liking and perceived sweetness, vanilla flavor, milk flavor, and thickness. Interactions between vanilla and sucrose were measured using deviations of real mixtures from additive models (via the isobole method), indicating vanilla aroma does enhance perceived sweetness. However, the sweetness enhancing effect of vanilla aroma was not as pronounced as that of sucrose on vanilla flavor. Measurable cross-modal interactions occur despite using an analytical cognitive strategy. More work is needed to investigate the influence of perceptual strategy on the degree of taste-aroma interactions in real foods.

Vaginal microbicides potentially empower women to protect themselves from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially when culture, religion, or social status may prevent them from negotiating condom use. The open literature contains minimal information on factors that drive user acceptability of women's health products or vaginal drug delivery systems. By understanding what women find to be most important with regard to sensory properties and product functionality, developers can iteratively formulate a more desirable product. Conjoint analysis is a technique widely used in market research to determine what combination of elements influence a consumer's willingness to try or use a product. We applied conjoint analysis here to better understand what sexually-active woman want in a microbicide, toward our goal of formulating a product that is highly acceptable to women. Both sensory and non-sensory attributes were tested, including shape, color, wait time, partner awareness, messiness/leakage, duration of protection, and functionality. Heterosexually active women between 18 and 35 years of age in the United States (n = 302) completed an anonymous online conjoint survey using IdeaMap software. Attributes (product elements) were systematically presented in various combinations; women rated these combinations of a 9-point willingness-to-try scale. By coupling systematic combinations and regression modeling, we can estimate the unique appeal of each element. In this population, a multifunctional product (i.e., broad spectrum STI protection, coupled with conception) is far more desirable than a microbicide targeted solely for HIV protection; we also found partner awareness and leakage are potentially strong barriers to use.

Topical microbicides are a promising solution to address the global threat of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. To be successful, a microbicide not only needs to be biologically functional but also highly acceptable to users. User acceptability of microbicides can be incorporated early in the product formulation and design process. Previous qualitative research revealed women had strong preferences regarding product shape, while preferences related to size and firmness were less clear. Here, we explored the effect of size and firmness on the acceptability of semisolid ovoid microbicide prototypes intended for vaginal use. Sexually active women (n = 74) were randomized to one of two conditions: with and without applicator. Nine different prototypes were evaluated; they were formulated to low, medium and high firmness using mixtures of kappa and iota carrageenan and potassium chloride. Three sizes were produced at each firmness level. Women manipulated all nine prototypes, rating them for perceived effectiveness, imagined ease-of-insertion and willingness-to-try on visual analog scales. The influence of size and firmness on these three outcome measures were assessed using ANOVA and response surface models. Results indicated size and firmness both influenced the outcome measures, but firmness was more influential than size. Also, the specific effects of size and firmness depended strongly on presence or absence of an applicator. Generally, women in the without applicator condition wanted a larger, firmer product. Collectively, these data suggest efforts to rationally design of microbicides for enhanced user acceptability must consider factors like size and firmness. Also, the decision to include or forego an applicator should be addressed early in the design process, as it strongly influences other design decisions.

Vaginal microbicides are believed to have substantial potential to empower women to protect themselves from HIV, although clinical trials to date have had mixed results at best. Issues with patient adherence in these trials suggest additional emphasis should be placed on optimizing acceptability. Acceptability is driven, in part, by the sensory properties of the microbicide, so better understanding of the relationships between sensory properties and the physical and rheological properties of microbicides should facilitate the simultaneous optimization of sensory properties in parallel with the biophysical properties required for drug deployment. Recently, we have applied standard methods to assess the potential acceptability of microbicide prototypes ex vivo and to quantify the sensory properties of microbicide surrogates. Here, we link quantitative perceptual data to the rheological properties of 6 over-the counter (OTC) vaginal products used as ex vivo microbicide surrogates. Shear-thinning behavior (n) and tan δ (10 rad/s) showed no relationship with any perceptual attributes while shear storage modulus, G' (10 rad/s) was correlated with some attributes, but did not appear to be a strong predictor of sensory properties. Conversely, the storage loss modulus, G\" (10 rad/s) and the consistency coefficient, K, were correlated with several sensory attributes: stickiness, rubberiness, and uniform thickness for G'' and stickiness, rubberiness, and peaking for K. Although these relationships merit confirmation in later studies, this pilot study suggests rheological principles can be used to understand the sensory properties evoked by microbicide surrogates assessed ex vivo. Additional work is needed to determine if these findings would apply for microbicides in vivo.

Simplex lattice mixture design was utilized to optimize a brighter and acceptable injera (Ethiopian staple bread). Fourteen formulations of injera were produced from constrained blends of teff (70-100%), maize (0-30%) and rice (0-30%). Investigated responses were proximate, mineral, sensory and lightness (L* value). Nutritional values (g/100 g) ranged from 59.3 to 62.8 (moisture), 1.74 to 2.76 (ash), 11.5 to 14.7 (protein), 2.1 to 2.6 (fat), 3.91 to 5.2 (fiber) and 75.9 to79.4 (carbohydrate). Minerals (mg/100 g) varied from Fe: 17.7 to 25.1, Zn: 1.62-2.10, and Ca: 25.9 to 51.1. Sensory scores for color, taste, texture, number of eyes, eye size, eye distribution, top & bottom surface and overall acceptability were 5.63-7.72, 5.22-6.21, 4.83-7.70, 6.02-7.27, 4.12-5.82, 5.42-6.93, 5.97-7.02, and 5.32-7.25, respectively, while the L* value ranged from 54.9 to 63.1. Optimum formulations of injera in terms of color, overall acceptability and L* value consisted of 70% teff, 0% maize and 30% rice with a desirability of 0.909. Numerical optimization also indicated that better sensory, proximate and mineral qualities are directly related with the proportion of rice; maize and teff, respectively.

Background Vaginal microbicides are a promising means to prevent the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, by empowering women to initiate use prophylactically when they perceive themselves to be at risk. However, in clinical trials, microbicides have shown mixed results, with the consistent finding that effectiveness varies substantially as a function of user adherence. Methods Based on the assumption that adherence is driven, at least in part, by product properties that influence acceptability, we used softgel technology to develop vaginal drug delivery systems in the intermediate texture space between solids and liquids to overcome potential shortcomings of current dosage forms. Here, we used focus groups and surveys to determine women’s initial reactions (i.e., acceptance and willingness-to-try) for semisoft vaginal suppositories intended for HIV and STI prevention, with a specific focus on how perception of and preferences for vaginal suppositories may be influenced by product characteristics such as size, shape, and firmness. Results Via focus groups, we identified intrinsic and extrinsic factors relevant to acceptability of semisoft suppository prototypes. Willingness-to-try depended on factors like intended functionality, anticipated leakage, type of sex, recommended frequency of use, type of sexual partner, and perceived risk. When handled ex vivo, shape, size, and firmness of suppositories communicated information about ease of imagined insertion and handling, perceived effectiveness, anticipated awareness and comfort of the product in the body. These impressions were partly based on prior experience with vaginal products. Conclusions Sensory attributes appear to play a substantial role in women’s preferences and willingness to try the semisoft suppositories. Using these methods during preclinical development should help efficiently optimize a final product that is both biologically efficacious and preferred by women, toward a goal of enhancing adherence and effectiveness.