Chewing and taste increase blood velocity in the celiac but not the superior mesenteric arteries

To investigate the role of chewing and taste in the meal-induced rapid increase in splanchnic blood flow, we compared the blood flow responses in the celiac artery (CA) and superior mesenteric artery (SMA) to chewing solid food with a chocolate taste (FOOD) and paraffin wax without taste (WAX). After 5 min of baseline measurement, 15 healthy subjects repeated chewing and expectorating the FOOD or WAX every 20 s for 4 min followed by 10 min of recovery measurement. We measured the mean blood velocity (MBV) in the CA and SMA. The baseline MBVs in the CA and SMA did not differ between the FOOD and WAX trials. The MBV in the CA was lower than baseline at the 1st min of chewing in both trials. It was higher than baseline at the 3rd min of FOOD chewing, whereas it did not increase during and after WAX chewing. The MBV in the CA was higher in the FOOD trial than in the WAX trial at the 3rd min of chewing and thereafter. In contrast, the MBV in the SMA did not change throughout the protocols. These results suggest that the taste of food plays a role in meal-induced hyperemia in the CA but not the SMA.