Multivariate statistical analysis and odor taste network to reveal odor taste associations

Odor−taste association has been successfully applied to enhance taste perception in foods with low sugar or lowsalt content. Nevertheless, selecting odor descriptors with a given associated taste remains a challenge. In the aim to look forodors able to enhance some specific taste, we tested different multivariate analyses tofind links between taste descriptors andodor descriptors, starting from a set of data previously obtained using gas chromatography/olfactometry-associated taste: 68odorant zones described with 41 odor descriptors and 4 taste-associated descriptors (sweetness, saltiness, bitterness, andsourness). A partial least square analysis allowed for identification of odors associated with a specific taste. For instance, odorsdescribed as either fruity, sweet, strawberry, candy,floral, or orange are associated with sweetness, while odors described aseither toasted, potato, sulfur, or mushroom are associated with saltiness. A network representation allowed for visualization ofthe links between odor and taste descriptors. As an example, a positive association was found between butter odor and bothsaltiness and sweetness. Our approach provided a visualization tool of the links between odor and taste description and could beused to select odor-active molecules with a potential taste enhancement effect based on their odor descriptors.