The extract of stevia leaves (Stévia rebaudiana Bertoni) is the only sweetener utilized in sucrose substitution which can be totally produced in Brazil. The objective of this study, was determine the temporal characteristics of sweet and bitter taste of extract of stevia and compare then with those of sucrose at 3 and 10% in the same equi-sweet. The time-intensity curves (T-I) for each substance were made with the software "Sistema de Coleta de Dados Tempo-Intensidade - SCDTI" for Windows. The judges registered the perception of each stimuli as function of time for each sample using the mouse. The parameters of T-I curves collected were: Time for intensity maxim (TImax), intensity maxim (Imax), time of decay (Td), time of platô (Platô), area under curve (Area) and total time of stimuli duration (Ttot) were determined in T-I curves. The parameters Td, Ttot, Área e Platô of T-I curves, for stimuli sweet in both sweetness level, were significativelly superior for stevia, while TImax e Imax were significativelly inferior (p<FONT FACE="Symbol">£</font> 0,05), at differences between value for both substances were superior DESS at 10%. Sucrose didn’t present any record for simuli bitter in 3 or 10%, while stevia presented a characteristic T-I curve with intensity and total time of stimuli duration dependent on concentration.
time-intensity analysis; stevia; sensory analysis
