title: Deconvoluting physical and chemical heat: Temperature and spiciness influence flavor differently.
abstract: Flavor is an essential, rich and rewarding part of human life. We refer to both physical and chemical heat in similar terms; elevated temperature and capsaicin are both termed hot. Both influence our perception of flavor, however little research exists into the possibly divergent effect of chemical and physical heat on flavor. A human sensory panel was recruited to determine the equivalent level of capsaicin to match the heat of several physical temperatures. In a subsequent session, the intensities of multiple concentrations of tastant solutions were scaled by the same panel. Finally, panelists evaluated tastants plus equivalent chemical or physical "heat". All basic tastes aside from umami were influenced by heat, capsaicin, or both. Interestingly, capsaicin blocked bitter taste input much more powerfully than elevated temperature. This suggests that despite converging percepts, chemical and physical heat have a fundamentally different effect on the perception of flavor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.
authors.forename: Camille L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Kapaun
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA. Electronic address: robin.dando@cornell.edu.
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dando
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002211:Capsaicin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005421:Flavoring Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011601:Psychophysics; D018689:Sensory System Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D055697:Taste Perception / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D014867:Water; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D005421:Flavoring Agents; D018689:Sensory System Agents; D014867:Water; D002211:Capsaicin
keywords: Capsaicin; Flavor; Perception; Psychophysics; Taste; Temperature