Description
By Cynthia H. Loi, The Pennsylvania State University
Abstract:
Cocoa products are rich sources of dietary polyphenols, which are compounds studied for their potential health benefits. Polyphenols elicit astringency, a mouthfeel sensation that is a salient attribute of foods such as tea, coffee, red wine, and various berries, yet unpleasant at high intensities.Despite extensive research investigating astringency, the mechanism behind the percept is still debated. It is widely accepted that the complexation of polyphenols and proteins initiates the astringency mechanism, however, more research is necessary to elucidate the downstream processes after complexation, namely, the interactions between specific polyphenols and certain salivary proteins, as well as how these interactions relate to sensory perception. Additionally, most research on astringency is studied through the context of wine, tea, or model solutions with tannic acid or epigallocatechin gallate, so this research aims to add to the limited body of work regarding astringency elicited by cocoa polyphenols. This thesis investigates how individual differences in astringency perception may be explained through differences in salivary flow rate, total protein amount, protein composition, and protein-polyphenol interactions.
