Human Oral Detection of Glucose Olygomers

The Role of Salivary Contents in Taste Perception of Starch and Its Hydrolysis Products

Status

Completed

Phases

Phase 4

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02589353

Enrollment

157

Registered

2015-10-28

Start date

2017-04-21

Completion date

2023-02-16

Last updated

2023-02-21

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Healthy Volunteers

Brief summary

Although salivary contents play a major role in the early stage of food digestion process, their role in taste perception of glucose polymers is essentially unknown. It is hypothesized that the differences in salivary contents, more specifically salivary amylase concentration and activity, influence taste perception of glucose polymers and ultimately eating behavior, which is related to risks in various diseases. The current project will investigate the variation in salivary contents across individuals and its role in taste perception of glucose polymers.

Interventions

DRUGAcarbose

Acarbose solution will be swabbed on the tip of the tongue to inhibit salivary alpha amylase activity; each swab will contain \ 484 microgram acarbose; total maximum exposure of each subject to acarbose will be \ 14-30 mg each session (1-20 sessions)

Study design

Allocation

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 60 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* self-reported healthy adults between the ages of 18-60 who are fluent in English.

Exclusion criteria

* adults 61 years old and above * smokers * pregnant women * taking any prescription pain/ insulin medication * has a history of taste or smell loss or other oral disorders (e.g., burning mouth syndrome) * has current oral lesions, canker sores, or piercings * has a history of food allergy

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Detection of glucose polymers in the presence of acarbose	up to 5 years	There is only one outcome measure, that is the detection of glucose polymers. Subjects will be asked to discriminate a target sample (glucose polymers). Three samples will be applied using cotton swabs on the subjects' tongue (one at a time): 2 blanks (water + acarbose) and 1 target stimuli (glucose polymer solution + acarbose). Subjects will be asked to identify the target sample. The number of subjects who correctly identify the target stimuli will be counted and will be statistically analyzed to determine whether glucose polymer can be detected without the confounding effect of salivary alpha amylase hydrolysis.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026