Salt Taste Acuity and Menstruation

월경중 염미감각의 변화에 관한 연구

It was the purpose of this study to determine if the changes in the sense of taste occur with the periods of the menstrual cycle in 14 women aged 20 to 22 years. Results showed that the perceived intensity responses to different suprathreshold salt concentrations and the ad libitum salting level in soybean sprout soup did not differ significantly according to the different periods of the menstrual cycle. But women in the three or five days period previous to menstruation were sensi\ulcornertive at the lower salt concentration of 0.25%, but, on the contrary, were insensitive at the higher concentration of 1.25%, with increasing ad libitum salt preference in soybean sprout soup. Also, they were more or less high in the intensity slopes of perceived saltiness on the linear regression. The data suggests that a physiological mechanism for increasing salt intake may develop during the three or five days right before menstruation.