ABSTRACT
In many countries, excessive consumption of sodium chloride (salt) has become a serious social problem and reducing salt has been required. Herbs have been reported to enhance the saltiness of food; however, few studies have focused on the numerical evaluation of the degree of saltiness enhancement by herbs. The purpose of this study was to quantify the degree of saltiness enhancement by herbs via human sensory evaluation using a visual analog scale (VAS). The sensory evaluation was conducted on 69 students who were able to arrange the five different saline concentrations in order. The sensory salt concentration of herb-added 0.4 wt% saline solutions were perceived in comparison with the saltiness of 0.2 to 0.6 wt% reference saline solutions. The results were recorded by an arrow on a VAS. Hot-water extracts of the herbs basil, rosemary, parsley, anise, and oregano were used. The sensory salt concentration of a 0.175 wt% herb-added saline was equivalent to the actual salt concentration (0.4 wt%). However, the sensory salt concentrations of salines with 0.35 wt% herb extracts were significantly higher (p<0.001). There were no significant differences in the saltiness-enhancing effects depending on the species of, preference for, and familiarity with a particular herb. It was estimated that the addition of 0.35 wt% herb extracts enhanced the salty taste of the saline by 1.13 to 1.22 times.
