Particle size distribution in the food bolus after mastication of natural foods

The main goal of mastication is to prepare a food bolus suitable for deglutition. The bolus preparation consists in food breakdown and processing during which oral sensations are generated. This study was performed to examine the particle size distribution in the bolus formed by chewing 10 natural foods. Ten young subjects with normal dentition were asked to chew the food and to expectorate the bolus just before swallowing, while masticatory parameters were recorded. The particle size distribution of each bolus was evaluated by wet sieving. The number of cycles, sequence duration and masticatory frequency varied among subjects and foods. The particle size distributions differed among foods but were similar among subjects. The median particle size d50 gave a range from 0.82 to 3.04 mm allowing a food classification based on the state of the bolus. The d50 value reflected the fracturability and may be useful to describe food behaviour in the mouth during bolus preparation.