Herbs and spices represent a possibility for the improvement of anosmia and ageusia. In this work we evaluated the role of Mediterranean aromatic herbs and spices in the salty taste perception of ...patients with hyposmia compared to healthy controls. To this goal, the salty taste perception in response to pure salt and different types of commercial flavored sea salt was assessed in patients with hyposmia, with or without a post-acute coronavirus syndrome, and healthy controls. Myrtle berries and leaves, a mixture of Mediterranean herbs and plants such as helichrysum, rosemary, liquorice, fennel seeds and myrtle leaves, oranges and saffron were used as salt flavoring ingredients. Differences in gustatory perception between 57 patients with hyposmia and 91 controls were evaluated considering the rate of the gustatory dimensions of pleasantness, intensity, and familiarity, using a 7-point hedonic Likert-type scale. At a dose of 0.04 g/mL, saline solutions of flavored salts, with an average 15% less NaCl, were perceived by patients with hyposmia as equally intense but less familiar than pure salt solution, with similar scores in the pleasantness dimension. Our study highlighted the central role of Mediterranean aromatic plants in the enhancement of salty perception in patients with hyposmia.
Spices and herbs improve sensory perception and acceptance of foods in subjects with chemosensory deficits. Our study demonstrated that aromatic spices/herbs greatly influenced the sensory perception ...of an aromatic myrtle bitter liqueur (Mirtamaro) in consumers with olfactory and gustatory deficits. Mirtamaro was obtained by infusion of myrtle leaves/berries and a blend of Mediterranean herbs/plants. We initially evaluated differences in gustatory and olfactory perception of pure stimuli in controls (n = 158), subjects with hyposmia (n = 111 participants), and hypogeusia (n = 34). Subjects with hyposmia and hypogeusia showed a marked reduction in odor threshold, discrimination, and identification, while a noticeable compromise in the perception of basic taste modalities (bitter, salty, sour, and sweet) was detected in participants with hypogeusia. Then, in a subpopulation (n = 111) we evaluated differences in the perception of odor and taste pleasantness, intensity, and familiarity of Mirtoamaro. No significant differences emerged, by a labeled hedonic Likert-type scale, in the perception of Mirtamaro odor and taste in subjects with hyposmia and hypogeusia compared to controls. All groups described similar bitter liqueur sensory attributes, qualifying the use of aromatic herbs/plants as a strategy to enhance sensory perception and acceptance of foods in subjects with chemosensory deficits.
Background
Qualitative smell/taste disorders (such as phantosmia, parosmia, phantogeusia, and parageusia) have not yet been fully characterized in patients who had COVID-19, whereas quantitative ...disturbances (i.e., reduction/loss of smell/taste) have been widely investigated.
Objective
To simultaneously assess the presence of both quantitative and qualitative smell/taste dysfunctions in patients who suffered from COVID-19.
Methods
We enrolled 17 consecutive patients who suffered from COVID-19 over the last 6 months and 21 healthy controls, matched for sex and age. After a negative nasopharyngeal swab, the Sniffin’ Sticks Test and the Taste Strips were used to assess olfactory and taste function, respectively. At the same time, the presence of phantosmia, parosmia, phantogeusia, and parageusia was investigated with a standardized questionnaire.
Results
Qualitative disturbances of smell and/or taste were found in 6/17 (35.3%) patients. Phantosmia was reported in 2/17 (11.8%) patients and parosmia in 4/17 (23.5%). There were no significant differences in smell test scores between patients who reported phantosmia and/or parosmia and patients who did not. Phantogeusia was described in 3/17 (17.6%) patients, and parageusia was identified in 4/17 (23.5%) patients. All tested patients were normogeusic.
Conclusion
Around one-third of patients who recover from COVID-19 may have persistent qualitative dysfunction in smell/taste domains. Detection of phantogeusia in long-term COVID-19 patients represents a further novel finding. Further investigation is needed to better characterize the pathophysiology of phantosmia, parosmia, phantogeusia, and parageusia in patients who had COVID-19.
Previous studies reported a correlation between olfactory function and depression. However, in literature, no data are available for the correlation between depression and all other factors such as ...age, sex, olfactory, gustatory, and cognitive function in healthy subjects taken together. The aim of this study was to provide a systematic account regarding the association between those variables in a non-clinical population.
Two hundred and seventy-three participants were recruited with an age range of 19-84 years. Olfactory, gustatory, cognitive function, and depression level were evaluated by means of the following tests: the Sniffin' Sticks test, Taste Strips test, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).
In our data, an age-related decrease in olfactory and gustatory function and a decline in cognitive functions such as attention, memory, and language were observed. Instead, no significant differences were observed for the depression level in relation to the different age ranges. However, our results indicated that the depression level could be associated to sex, odor identification impairment, and decreased attention and language.
Sex, the odor identification impairment, and an age-related decrease in attention and language are associated with increased level of depression in healthy subjects. Our data can be useful and informative for health care workers, that is, to have adequate preventive strategies to be used whenever these conditions are detected and recognized.
We evaluated sex differences in the perception of bitter compounds and an aromatic bitter herbal liqueur (Mirtamaro) obtained by the infusion of myrtle leaves/berries together with a mixture of ...Mediterranean herbs/plants as flavoring/bittering ingredients. In a healthy population (
= 231 participants), using bivariate correlations and multivariate linear regression analyses, significant sex differences emerged in quinine bitterness perception, with women showing a higher bitter taste intensity rating than men. Among all participants, 40 subjects (subpopulation) were randomly selected for the evaluation of sex differences in Mirtamaro gustatory and olfactory perception using a hedonic Likert-type scale. Women showed higher ratings in Mirtamaro aroma (odor intensity) and bitterness (taste intensity) perception than men, with a superior capacity to perceive/describe its sensory attributes. 1,8-Cineole and methyl chavicol were the main contributors to the bitter liqueur aroma. A significant correlation (r = 0.564,
< 0.01) between Mirtamaro odor pleasantness/taste pleasantness was observed in women, indicating a positive contribution of aromatic herbs to bitter taste acceptability. Moreover, a higher bitter intensity rating of 6-n-propylthiouracil was evidenced in women than men. Our results highlighted sex differences in bitter taste acuity and the role of aromatic herbs/plants in modulating bitter taste acceptance, which is useful information in the field of precision nutrition and medicine.
A taste component is implicated in the oro-sensory detection of dietary lipids and free fatty acids seem to be involved in fatty food recognition. Bottarga, the salted and semi-dried ovary product of ...mullet (
spp.), is a rich-fat food. A comparative sensory assessment of different commercial bottarga samples was performed in insect and human models in relation to their lipid composition. The bottarga attractant effect to
was assessed by behavioral tests. The subjective odor and taste perception of bottarga samples was investigated in human determining the rate of pleasantness, familiarity, and intensity dimensions using the 7-points Likert-type scale. Bottarga samples showed similar lipid profiles, but differences emerged in total and free fatty acid levels. Significant differences were observed in the attractant effect/acceptability of samples to medflies, negatively correlated to their total and free fatty acids. Insect female exhibited the ability to select among bottarga samples based on their visual and olfactory properties. In the human model, a potential contribution of free fatty acid amount in the pleasantness and familiarity dimensions of taste of bottarga samples was evidenced. Women exhibited a greater ability than men to select bottarga samples based on their better olfactory perception. Our results increase the knowledge about this outstanding product with nutritional and nutraceutical properties.
Aging is a progressive physiological degeneration associated with a decline in chemosensory processes and cognitive abilities and a reduction in synaptic plasticity. The biological bases of ageing ...are still not completely understood, and many theories have been proposed. This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of age-related changes affecting the chemosensory function (gustatory and olfactory) and general cognitive abilities and their potential associations in women. To this aim, 319 women (the age ranging from 18 to 92 years) were recruited and divided into four different age groups: 18–34 years, 35–49 years, 50–64 years, and ≥65 years. Our results confirmed that in women, gustatory, olfactory, and cognitive functions decline, though in a different manner during aging. Olfactory and cognitive function showed a slight decline along the first three age classes, with a dramatic decrease after age 65 years, while gustatory function decreased more gradually. Olfactory and gustatory deficits may have a high degree of predictivity for general cognitive function as well as for specific cognitive subdomains such as visuospatial/executive abilities, language, memory, and attention. Our study highlighted the importance of using chemosensory assessments for the early diagnosis of cognitive decline and for the development of appropriate personalized risk prevention strategies.
Many studies suggested that olfactory function could be associated with semantic memory, executive function, and verbal fluency. However, the gender-related association between olfactory function and ...the cognitive domain is not well investigated. The aim of this study was to estimate gender-related differences in the relationship between olfactory function and each specific cognitive domain of the Cognitive Reserve Index (CRI) questionnaire, such as education, working activity, and leisure time in healthy subjects.
Two hundred and sixty-nine participants were recruited (158 women and 111 men), with a mean age of 48.1 ± 18.6 years. The CRI questionnaire and Sniffin' Sticks test were used to evaluate the cognitive reserve and the olfactory function, respectively.
In all subjects, significant associations between the odor threshold versus CRI-Education, between the odor discrimina-tion and identification versus CRI-Working activity and CRI-Leisure Time, were found. In women, odor threshold, discrimination, and identification were associated with CRI-Leisure Time, while in men, only a significant association between odor threshold and CRI-Education was observed.
Our data, showing significant gender-related associations between olfactory function and CRI scores, suggested the use of olfactory evaluation and cognitive reserve as an important screening tool for the early detection of mild cognitive impairment.
Over the 4 last years, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has determined the diffusion of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global outbreak ....
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