The application of waterless empirical taste test（WETT®） in 159 Chinese healthy subjects

Abstract

Objective:This study examined the influences of age and gender on the taste function of a sizable sample of healthy Chinese subjects using the Waterless Empirical Taste Test（WETT®）, and provided scientific evidences for taste evaluation in clinic. Methods:A total of 159 subjects were tested based on strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. The 53 stimuli strips, presented on monomer cellulose pads, were designed to test 5 basic taste functions including sour, sweet, bitter, salty and umami of all subjects. The analysis was computed in SAS 9.4 statistical software. Results:The total taste score of the subjects was 35.00±8.94; the average test administration time was（21.61±7.80） min. The total test scores decreased across age categories（young group: 37.41±8.12, middle-aged group: 34.48±9.04, elderly group: 29.31±8.64）, the correlation coefficient between the total test scores and age was r=-0.335, P<0.05. There were significant differences in sour and bitter scores among different age groups（Psour=0.019, Pbitter<0.001）. Overall, women outperformed men on the total test（[36.53±8.72]vs[32.93±8.87], P=0.012）. There were correlations among individual taste of scores, and the correlation coefficient between umami and total score was the strongest（rumami/total=0.700，P<0.05）. Conclusion:This study demonstrated that a simple self-administered taste test, the WETT®, could be applied to Chinese healthy people. Age and gender-effects are the main factors which affect gustatory function.