Fig. 4
Comparative analysis between ready-to-swallow food boli formed in vivo and those created in vitro. The parameters examined encompassed textural attributes (a), including firmness, cohesion work, adhesion work, and maximum adhesive force, along with shear viscosity data (b) at relevant shear rates, specifically those associated with sensory perception (10 s− 1), oral (50 s− 1) and oropharyngeal phases of swallowing (300–1000 s− 1). Additional parameters such as the food-to-saliva ratio (Hw), representing the ratio of saliva to the wet food sample, are provided in the Supplementary Information; no statistically significant differences between Hw values of in vivo and in vitro boli (refer to Supplementary Table SI.2). In vivo food boli underwent three repetitions across three different panellists (n = 3 × 3), while in vitro food boli were subjected to at least three repetitions. The textural attributes and shear viscosities of the in vitro food boli closely mirrored those observed in ready-to-swallow in vivo boli for the model foods (Viscous Liquid (VL), Aerated Soft Aolid (ASS), Soft Solid (SS)). However, slight significant differences were noted for the work of cohesion and shear viscosities at low shear rates for in vitro ASS boli, as well as the viscosities of SS boli at oropharyngeal-relevant shear rates. Letters are used to represent statistical disparities among datasets.
