Influence of the colour of an artificially sweetened, non-caloric, placebo mouthrinse solution on exercise performance of trained cyclists

• Grant number: 22/04211-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: December 01, 2022
• End date: November 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology
• Principal Investigator: Bryan Saunders
• Grantee: Odara Maria de Sousa Sá
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The colour of a drink can influence taste, flavour and sweetness perception. For food and drink, colours are fundamental both to their aesthetic characteristics, and are indicative of their safety and acceptability, Studies about this thematic have been conducted for more than 80 years, however factors such as age, sex, origin and training status may alter the perception of sweetness. Thus, the present research is twofold and will serve as preliminary work for a larger study on the effects of a colour solution on exercise performance. 2 studies will be developed: Preliminary study and main study.Preliminary study: Aims to determine the perception of sweetness of 7 identically artificially sweetened solutions, but with distinct pigmentations (red, purple, blue, yellow, green, brown, and pink) in a Brazilian cohort of non-trained and trained individuals. Participants will be required to visually rank the drinks in order of perceived sweetness, provide words of ingredients that they associate with the different colours based upon their visual perception of the drink colours. Main study: Aims to determine whether the drinks colours perceived as sweetest and least sweet from part A modify the taste perception of an artificially sweetened drink compared to a non-coloured drink solution. Three identical drinks will be provided and tasted in a randomised order. Participants will be required to identify whether the coloured drinks are more or less sweet than the non-coloured solution using a visual analogue scale (VAS). They will also complete an acceptability test and the intention to purchase test. Topographical Quantitative EEG will be measured throughout the test.