Extra virgin olive oil aroma release after interaction with human saliva from individuals with different body mass index

BACKGROUND: The interindividual variability observed in saliva characteristics raises the question of its relationship with variability in fat sensory perception, particularly in aroma compounds. In the present study, which aimed to measure aroma release fromdifferent individuals, eleven key aroma compounds of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) were monitored and quantified in dynamic headspace after an in vitro interaction between EVOOand human saliva. Therefore, 60 individualswere studied from those who were normal weight (NW), overweight (OW) and obese (O). RESULTS:OWandOdemonstrate a higher release of C6 compounds compared toNW. By contrast,NWhave a higher release of C5 compounds. Pentanal and hexanal also increased after saliva interaction in a refined olive oil that is free from volatiles. Among the saliva samples with a higher release in NW individuals, only pentanal was different. However, the low levels of these lipid oxidation end-products do not appear to be very important with respect to increasing odorous fat sensitivity. CONCLUSION: The results obtained in the present study demonstrate the important role of saliva in the aroma release of EVOO, indicating that humans can perceive it differently in relation to their body mass index.