ABSTRACT
Objective
This study aimed to evaluate the perception and sensory acceptance of sweet taste by individuals who work/study on different shifts.
Methods
Three groups of individuals were recruited: the Control group (individuals that study during the day and do not work at night), Group 1 (individuals that study in the evening) and Group 2 (individuals that work overnight). The individuals were submitted to a detection threshold test using sucrose solutions and a sensory acceptance test using a structured hedonic scale and a Just-About-Right scale for sweet taste in blancmange.
Results
The detection thresholds were significantly higher for Groups 1 and 2. Individuals of Group 2 had a preference by blancmanges when having high sucrose concentrations, as well as had an ideal concentration of 10.50% sucrose against 5.95% sucrose for the Control group.
Conclusion
Our study shows a relationship between changes in the circadian cycle and the sensory perception and acceptance of sweet taste. More studies need to be performed to understand such relationships and their repercussions better.
Keywords
Circadian cycle; Detection threshold test; Sensory acceptance
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Note: Control group: individuals who study during the day and do not work at night, Group 1: individuals who study in the evening and Group 2: individuals who reverse the shift (work overnight). The dotted line on the score 5 on Just-About-Right (JAR) scales indicates the middle of the scale (ideal intensity) and the arrows indicate scores in which the intensity is less or more than ideal. Different letters indicate different statistical means by the Tukey test (p≤0.05). Statistical results are not shown to sample-group interactions to not pollute the figure.
