J. P. Dumont

Oil-water partition of odorant: Discrepancy between sensory and instrumental data

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine whether odour compounds elicit sensory responses of the same intensity when presented at the same concentration in vapour phase over water or oil solutions. Oil-water partition coefficients of selected odorous molecules were calculated from experimental data obtained either by sensory measurements or by GLC headspace analysis of the corresponding samples. Oil-water partition coefficients calculated from sensory data were consistently higher than the related data obtained from instrumental measurements. Experiments carried out on aqueous solutions showed a trend amongst panelists to underestimate odour intensity of blind samples of low concentration, but the bias cannot account for the whole of the observed difference. It is suggested that concentration of the odorants in the headspace might not be the unique factor determining intensity of the perceived stimulus.