(P12-011-23) More Spice, Less Salt: How Capsaicin Affects Liking for and Perceived Saltiness of Foods in People With Smell Loss

Objectives: When people lose their sense of smell, they often find food less enjoyable and alter their diet to increase flavor and eating enjoyment. One dietary alteration that is often reported is adding more salt to foods, and preferring salty foods. Over time, this can lead to excess salt intake and increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Among individuals with a normal sense of smell, the addition of capsaicin to reduced salt dishes has been shown to increase saltiness perception and overall flavor; whether adding capsaicin produces measurable improvements in saltiness perception and food liking has not been studied in those with smell loss. The purpose of this study was to determine 1) whether salt intake in those with smell loss differs from population averages, and 2) whether capsaicin increases flavor and salt taste intensity, and enjoyment of foods in individuals with smell loss.

Methods: Individuals having confirmed partial or total smell loss for at least 12 weeks rated total flavor, taste quality, and spiciness intensities, and liking of various food samples with different levels of spice and/or salt. 24-hour urine samples were also collected to determine sodium intake.

Results: Results indicate that although sodium intake is higher than recommended, those with smell loss do not consume more sodium than population averages (2741 ± 271 mg vs 3039 ± 99 mg, respectively; p=0.3). Adding moderate amounts of capsaicin to soup increased total flavor intensity (p < 0.001) and salt taste intensity (p=0.007) compared to the soup without capsaicin. However, the ability of capsaicin to increase liking differed by food type.

Conclusions: Addition of capsaicin can serve as a dietary tool to improve flavor and increase salt taste intensity, and eating enjoyment in people with smell loss.

Funding Sources: This study was funded by the AbScent Research Grant. SH was supported by NIH T32 (DC00014) and U01 (DC019578 to PD) funding during this work.