Feasibility analysis of a newly developed multifunctional mastication simulator

The oral breakdown of food structure and the associated release of flavoring components (both aroma and taste compounds) have direct impact on the sensory perception and eating experience of a food product. Extensive studies have been reported in the past decade or so on the food oral processing in trying to reveal the underlying governing principles of eating and sensory perception(Chen, 2009; He, Wang, & Chen, 2022; Wang & Chen, 2017). However, food oral processing research has always been hindered due to the ethical restriction and the practical difficulties in oral access. Closed oral environment during eating and drinking and irregular oral geometry make access or direct observation of food inside the oral cavity practically very challenging. Furthermore, the dynamic nature of eating and sensory perception and also the continuous secretion of saliva during oral processing means that it is practically difficult in making a direct correlation between food properties and a perceived sensory attribute. The situation becomes further complicated when individual variation of oral physiology is taken into consideration (Gal, Gallo, Palla, Murray, & Klineberg, 2004).

To overcome above mentioned obstacles related to food oral processing and sensory perception, a number of masticatory devices which simulate oral mastication process have been developed in order to be able to conduct in vitro studies of eating and sensory perception (Takanobu, Takanishi, & Kato, 1993). For example, Xu et al. (Xu, Lewis, Bronlund, & Morgenstern, 2008) developed a six-rod connected masticatory simulator with a good capability of simulating the motion trajectory of the lower jaw during mastication. A French research group developed an AM2 masticatory simulator (Woda et al., 2010), capable of simulating the oral masticatory motions (Peyron et al., 2019). The springs and discs and simulated tooth sectioning were appropriately arranged inside a masticatory chamber with good sealing capability and temperature control (Mishellany-Dutour et al., 2011; Noh et al., 2011; Woda et al., 2010). Noh et al. (Noh et al., 2011) built a system based on the use of hexagram device for in vitro chewing simulation. The uniqueness of the device was its combination with fluorescence imaging and video surveillance systems which allows monitoring of food movement and also food mass change during an eating and swallowing in real time. Benjamin et al. (Benjamin et al., 2012) developed a model mouth which combines oral and nasal cavities by using a glass chamber where an artificial tongue is also fitted. The model was designed to resemble the proportional volumes of human oral and nasal physiology, including average tongue and food sample volumes. This gives a great advantage for the analysis of volatile compounds release during oral processing (Benjamin, Silcock, Beauchamp, Buettner, & Everett, 2013). Salles et al.(; Salles et al., 2007; Tarrega, Yven, Semon, Mielle, & Salles, 2019) developed a mastication simulator capable of detecting flavor release of food after chewing and applied it to study the fragmentation of pea flour and the effect of different oral parameters on aroma release. The device was tested successfully on study the effect of fat on the aroma release of beef (Hayashi, Nakada, Semon, & Salles, 2022). Alemzadeh et al. (Alemzadeh et al., 2021) reported a device that can simulate the human chewing process in an airtight environment, with a very high similarity to human chewing process and tooth structure. A test on chewing gum showed that the gum and artificial saliva can be collected after the test for analysis of its xylitol content, giving useful kinetic insight of how the flavor is released during a chewing process. Very recently, Zhou et al. (Zhou & Yu, 2022) reported a six-axis parallel device that can simulate the jaw movement and complete the simulation of human chewing efficiency through the adjustment of oral parameters. The degree of simulation of the breaking process of food in the mouth is high. Despite of exciting development of various model devices for experimental mastication simulation, no such technique is commercially available for the purpose of in vitro oral processing studies, due to various shortages and disadvantages of the design. From the technical point of view, many of the devices mentioned above only focus on the single nature of the change of the dough, and lack one or more monitoring functions of pH sensor, conductivity sensor and temperature sensor. Some devices also do not take into account the closed environment of the real oral cavity, and cannot observe the complex changes of the food ball in the oral processing in real time during the experiment (Panda, Chen, & Benjamin, 2020).

In order to achieve a feasible in vitro tool for providing better reference of the dynamics of food oral breakdown and associated sensory experience, a new mastication device with multiple functions has been developed and its feasibility is described in this work. The device, shown in Fig. 1, simulates the process of food breakdown inside a tightly sealed chamber and is capable of monitoring real-time pH and conductivity of saliva. Air sampling on-line for volatile compounds analysis is also possible for the determination of real aroma release. By regularly collecting food particles for size distribution analysis, the kinetics of food fragmentation can be monitored and quantified with the help of X50, equals half of the initial particle size. Table 1 summarizes the parameters which can be objectively measured with the device and their possible sensory implications. Among them, X50 can often be used to describe the particle size characteristics of the food mass after being chewed, indicating the fragility of the sample, that is, the brittleness of the food (van der Bilt, Olthoff, van der Glas, van der Weelen, & Bosman, 1987); researchers have also confirmed that bite force plays an important role in hardness perception (Mioche, Peyron, & Culioli, 1993); The links between sour taste perception and pH (Norris, Noble, & Pangborn, 1984), salty taste perception and conductivity (Jack, Piggott, & Paterson, 1995) have been used in many studies; Devices such as electronic nose and GC–MS are also common monitoring devices for aroma (Ansorena, Gimeno, Astiasarán, & Bello, 2001).

It is hoped that this new design can provide an alternative technique for in vitro evaluation of food systems, their oral behavior and sensory implications. By using real food samples, this work demonstrates the feasibility and reliability of the device for qualitative analysis for a number of parameters during an eating process.

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