Fatty Acid Taste Thresholds: Caproic, Lauric, Oleic, Linoleic, Linolenic

Differences in human oral sensitivity for caproic, lauric, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids will be explored. Prior work indicates that there may be a learning effect in measuring detection thresholds for free fatty acids. This study is designed to determine the number of visits necessary to attenuate this learning effect and also to test whether this effect continues across different types of fatty acids or is specific to each fatty acid. This will aid in understanding how many visits are required to obtain reliable data and if less expensive fatty acids can be used to attenuate learning before testing thresholds for more expensive fatty acids.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Taste Sensitivity Fatty Acid Type Hypersensitivity Immune System Diseases

Age range

18 year–60 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Purdue University

West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

18-60 years of age
in good health
available for 3 months

Exclusion criteria

Participation in a different fat taste study in previous 6 months

Treatment and study plan

Primary outcomes

Oral sensitivity to oleic, lauric, linoleic, linolenic and caproic acids measured by the ascending 3 alternative forced choice test as described in American Society and Testing and Methods E679

Time frame: Measured at weekly intervals over 3 months

Thresholds for taste of each fatty acid will be determined using the 3 alternative forced choice test. Participants will taste 3 samples, one of which contains a fatty acid, and select which sample they believe is different. The concentration of fatty acid used will range from very dilute to a maximum of 5%. The test is repeated over the range of concentrations until a participant is able to correctly identify the fatty acid or until the maximum concentration is reached.

Secondary outcomes

DNA sequence of potential fatty acid receptors (e.g., CD36, GPR120, GPR48)

Time frame: This will be collected at the final visit of the study, approximate 2-3 months from participant enrollment depending on how frequently the participant is able to come to the lab

Saliva will be collected to analyze any correlations between fatty acid receptor genes and sensitivity.
Amount of habitual dietary fat intake

Time frame: Baseline

A survey will be administered to determine each participant's habitual dietary fat intake
Measurement of hunger

Time frame: This will be measured at every study visit (21 visits plus 1 screening visit) over the 2-3 months of the study

Participants will rate how hungry they are on a line scale because commencing each study threshold test

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Purdue University

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start: 2013
Primary completion: 2014
Study completion: 2015
First posted: Nov 27, 2013
Registry last updated: Oct 15, 2015

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed