Sensory Properties of Bowel Cleansing Solutions

Sensory Evaluation of Laxative Bowel Solutions Used Prior to Colonoscopy

Samples of 4 commercially available bowel cleansing solutions, namely PEG-electrolyte + ascorbic acid (PEG-Asc, Moviprep®, Norgine, UK), PEG-electrolyte (PEG, Fortrans® Ibsen, France), sodium picosulfate/magnesium citrate (SPS, Picoprep®, Ferring, Switzerland), and oral sodium sulfate (OSS, Izinova®, Ibsen, France) were prepared according to the manufacturer's instructions. Descriptive analysis was conducted with trained panelists (N= 14) to create a sensory profile for the solutions and generated attributes were rated on an unstructured 15-cm line scale using the Compusense at-hand® (Guelph, Canada) sensory evaluation software. Acceptability testing was carried out with untrained participants (N=80) and samples were rated on the 9-point hedonic scale. Moreover, a Just-About-Right (JAR) scale was included for the four basic tastes to determine their compatibility with optimum taste/acceptability levels in the products.

Inclusion Criteria:

• age between 18 and 50 years

Exclusion Criteria:

• allergies to polyethelene glycol (PEG), artificial sweeteners