Chemotherapy-induced taste and smell changes influence food perception in cancer patients

PURPOSE

Chemotherapy-induced taste and smell alterations may have a negative impact on the quality of life and nutritional status. A prominent issue when dealing with taste and smell alterations and their consequences on food behavior and well-being lies in the variation arising from individual differences in chemosensory perceptions. The main aim of this study was to examine the effect of individuals' variation in the severity of taste and smell alterations relative to the stage of chemotherapy on self-reported food behavior and food perception.

METHODS

Eighty-nine cancer patients completed a questionnaire subdivided into two parts: a chemosensory part that allowed classification of patients in three groups ("no alterations," "moderate alterations," and "severe alterations") and a food behavior part.

RESULTS

The results highlighted a negative impact of chemosensory alterations on food perception. Compared with patients without taste and smell alterations, patients with severe chemosensory alterations reported significantly more frequent food perception problems, including modification of the perceived taste of food, finding bad taste in all food, and being unable to perceive food taste. Whereas 72% of patients with severe alterations were in late stage, only 37% of patients were in late stage in the no alterations group, indicating an effect of the treatment stage on taste and smell alterations.

CONCLUSION

Our results underlie the importance of providing specific attention to the severity of chemotherapy-induced taste and smell alterations and considering the individual differences among patients for a better nutritional management.

Sensory determinants of stated liking for vegetable names and actual liking for canned vegetables: A cross-country study among European adolescents

Sensory properties are reported as one of the main factors hindering an appropriate vegetable intake by the young. In the present work the sensory determinants of likings for vegetables were explored in adolescents of four European countries (Denmark, n = 88; France, n = 206; Italy, n = 110 and United Kingdom, n = 93). A questionnaire was designed to study cross country differences in stated liking for and familiarity with a list of vegetables popular among European markets (between-vegetable approach). A within-vegetable comparison approach with actual tasting was used to analyze differences and similarities in liking for canned pea and sweet corn samples across the countries. A close positive relationship between stated liking and familiarity was found. Irrespective of the country, one group of highly liked vegetables (carrots, tomatoes, green salad) was identified, characterized by innately liked tastes (sweet, umami), delicate flavour and bright appealing colour. A second group of highly disliked vegetables consists of cauliflowers and broccoli, characterized by disliked sensations such as bitter taste and objectionable flavour. Internal Preference Maps from actual liking scores indicate that the generally disliked tastes (bitter, sour), are clearly correlated with a negative hedonic response for both peas and sweet corn. The hedonic valence of a generally well accepted taste such as salty and texture descriptors depends on the type of vegetable. Internal preference maps from actual liking data indicate that flavour and appearance descriptors of the distinct sensory properties of each type of vegetable positively affect liking, while the intensity of unusual flavours is related to sample disliking.

Does olfactory specific satiety take place in a natural setting?

Olfactory-specific satiety (OSS) is characterized by a specific decrease in the odor pleasantness of a food eaten to satiety or smelled without ingestion. The usual protocol for studying OSS takes place in laboratory, a setting rather removed from the real world. Here, we set out to examine OSS in a natural setting: during a meal in a restaurant. We hypothesized that an aroma contained in a food that is eaten at the beginning of a meal decreases the pleasantness of the flavor of a food with the same aroma eaten at the end of the meal. In the first experiment (Experiment 1), a test group received an appetizer flavored with a test aroma (anise) at the beginning of the meal. After the main dish, they received a dessert flavored with the same aroma. A control group received the same aromatized dessert, but after a non-aromatized appetizer. This experiment was replicated (Experiment 2) using verbena as the test aroma. For both experiments, results revealed that aroma pleasantness, but not intensity or familiarity, significantly decreased in the test groups vs. the control groups. These findings extend the concept of OSS to a realistic eating context.