Persistence of volatile compounds in the breath after their consumption in aqueous solutions

The persistence of volatile compounds in the breath was monitored after their consumption in aqueous solutions. Factors studied were variation in volatile release patterns between panelists, effect of adding hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose (HPMC), and differences among compounds. For any given compound, the extent of volatile persistence was broadly similar for all panelists. Adding HPMC at concentrations in excess of c* did not substantially affect persistence. The largest differences in persistence were observed when compounds were compared (> 20-fold). The differences were modeled using a quantitative structure property relationship approach, based on the persistence data from 41 compounds. Major components of the model were terms that described the hydrophobicity and vapor pressure of a molecule. The model was validated with a test set, which showed that there was a significant correlation between persistence predicted by the model and the actual values observed.