Objectives of the study: Mediterranean aromatic herbs and spices may represent a possibility for the improvement of anosmia and ageusia. The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of Mediterranean aromatic plants in the enhancement of salty perception in patients with hyposmia. To this goal, the saltiness perception of saline solutions obtained from pure salt (NaCl, S) and different types of sea salt (FS) flavored with different aromatic plants (myrtle, fennel, rosemary, helichrysum, liquorice, saffron, and orange) were assessed in total patients with hyposmia compared to healthy controls.
Experimental methods: One hundred forty-eight subjects were enrolled, 57 (35 women and 22 men) were hyposmic patients (age: 35.7 ± 14.1 years) and 91 (62 women and 29 men) were healthy controls (age: 31.4 ± 13.6 years). The olfactory function was measured with Sniffin’ Sticks Extended Test, while the gustatory function was evaluated using Taste strips test with four concentrations for taste each modality (sweet, bitter, sour, and salty). Salty taste dimensions (pleasantness, intensity, and familiarity) of saline solutions (0.04 and 0.1 g/mL) obtained from S and FS were assessed in total patients with hyposmia compared to healthy controls.
Results: At the dose of 0.04 g/mL, saline solutions of FS, containing 6-30% of flavoring extract, were perceived in patients with hyposmia as equally intense, but less familiar, than pure salt solution, with similar scores in pleasantness dimension. In patients with hyposmia, the salt flavored with orange/saffron, characterized by 30% less of NaCl, emerged as the most interesting in potentiating saltiness perception.
Conclusions: Our data confirmed that the addition of Mediterranean herbs and spices to sea salt enhanced salty taste perception in patients with hyposmia, as in healthy controls, suggesting a potential role of FS in the reduction of salt intake in daily diet and to obtain a better gustatory perception of the food.