Swallowing profiles of food polysaccharide solutions with different flow behaviors

The relationship between physiological response and sensory perceived scores in swallowing was investigated using food polysaccharide solutions. Solutions from xanthan gum (0.3–0.9%) and locust bean gum (0.5–0.8%) were used as specimen with different flow behaviors identified by static and dynamic rheological methods. Acoustic analysis and sensory evaluation were carried out to investigate the swallowing profiles using the same human subjects. From acoustic analysis, time required for bolus to transfer through the pharyngeal phase t2 decreased with increasing concentration of xanthan gum despite the viscosity increase. Also, the acoustic balance for the swallowing sound shifted to a higher frequency range with increasing concentration. The t2 for locust bean gum was much less concentration-dependent and consistently larger than that for xanthan gum when compared at equivalent shear viscosity at 10 s−1. Also, the acoustic balance for the swallowing sound was less concentration-dependent than that for xanthan gum. From sensory evaluation, 0.6% xanthan gum was scored the highest in perceived swallowing ease, while 0.75% locust bean gum was scored the lowest. Both t2 and the acoustic balance correlated well with perceived swallowing ease. Results indicate that xanthan gum solutions flow as one coherent bolus through the pharyngeal phase with smaller variation of flow velocity than locust bean gum solutions, leading to a greater sensation of swallowing ease. “Structured fluid”, defined as fluid with yield stress such as xanthan gum solutions, is a rheological nature that allows bolus to be swallowed in one go, relating to perceived swallowing ease of liquid foods.