Food Neophobia and scarce olfactory performances are linked to oral microbiota. (May 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Valentino, Vincenzo; De Filippis, Francesca; Menghi, Leonardo; Gasperi, Flavia; Ercolini, Danilo
• Is Part Of: Food research international. Volume 155(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-05
• Subjects: TDI -- Olfaction -- Oral microbiota -- Food choice -- Mediterranean diet; TDI Threshold, Discrimination, Identification -- FN Food Neophobia -- VOC Volatile Organic Compound -- OTU Operational Taxonomic Unit; Food -- Analysis -- Periodicals; Food industry and trade -- Periodicals; Food industry and trade -- Canada -- Periodicals; Food Technology -- Periodicals; Food -- Periodicals; Food-Processing Industry -- Periodicals; Aliments -- Industrie et commerce -- Périodiques; Aliments -- Industrie et commerce -- Canada -- Périodiques; Aliments -- Recherche -- Périodiques; Food industry and trade; Canada; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 664.005
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2022.111092
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0963-9969

Abstract

Graphical abstract: Highlights: Oral microbiota of hyposmics is enriched in pathogenic taxa, such as P. gingivalis. Food Neophobia is linked with the prevalence of dysbiosis-related microbes. The influence of FN and olfaction on food choice may alter the oral microbiota. Abstract: People suffering from Food Neophobia (FN) tend to follow an unbalanced dietary pattern and show worse olfactory performances. However, scarce data are available on the possible relationships between FN, olfactory performances and the oral microbiota. The purpose of this work was to understand whether FN and its consequences on orthonasal and retronasal olfaction are related to specific signatures in the oral microbiota. We carried out 16S rRNA gene sequencing of salivary specimens from 83 subjects, whose olfactory performances and Food Neophobia were previously estimated. Our results show that the oral microbiota of people showing high neophobic traits and scarce olfactory performances is enriched in several taxa, such as the periodontal pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis. We hypothesize that these traits are likely attributable to unbalanced dietary patterns, which would need confirmation from dietary records of recruited neophobic subjects.