A mass spectrometric method for measuring flavour concentration/time profiles in human breath

Abstract

Psychophysical work on flavour perception led to the development of a mass spectrometric method to monitor continuously the release of flavour components at the nose, breath-by-breath. The key feature of the measuring set-up is a special membrane interfacing with a mass spectrometer. The method enables establishment of the effect of the matrix (oil or water) on flavour release rate and retention, and assignation of quantitative parameters. A mathematical model to evaluate the experimental curves was also developed.