Aerosol generation of sweeteners solutions during a drinking process.

In this study, we hypothesize that flavor compounds, volatile as well as non-volatile, can be transferred from the oral cavity to the nasal cavity in the form of aerosol particles. To test the potential of aerosol as the carrier of flavor compounds during a drinking process, the aerosol particles of sweetener solutions (sucrose or rebaudioside A) have been quantified at both the in situ and simulated conditions, with or without saliva mixing. As observed by an optical particle counter, shaking or splashing of test samples can generate huge numbers (1000–10000) of aerosol particles with most of them smaller than 1 μm. It was further observed that addition of sucrose, rebaudioside A, saliva, thickener (konjac glucomannan) and defoamer (simethicone emulsion) can significantly alter the generated aerosol particles of water both in situ and in vitro. As estimated by the intensity of fluorescence, the amount of transferred mass within the in vitro prepared aerosol can be 4.9 μg/min. The shear viscosities, surface tension, extensional break time and relaxation time were found to correlate with the aerosol generation of test sample. These results suggest that aerosol particles have the potential in carrying substantial amount of flavor compounds during oral processing, and their generation can be sensitively affected by the presence of food components and saliva. [Display omitted] • Aerosol particles can be generated during oral processing. • Aerosol particles function as an independent mechanism of oral-nasal mass transfer. • Taste compounds can be transferred from the oral cavity to nasal cavity during oral processing. • Generation and particle size distribution of aerosol particles during oral processing influenced by a number of factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]