Dr. Minty Thinks of New Cool Solutions
Hello, I’m Doctor Minty.
I am a mint specialist and I’m here on this page to answer not only the “ I DO 9 Team”,
but also everyone who likes to know about mint about the strange results that “ I DO 9 Team” found during their minty trip.
But first, let’s refresh our minds with the obtained fresh results:
1- Candies with and without Menthol, cause increase in the temperature of the mouth.
2- Candies with Menthol cause more increase in the mouth temperature than candies without Menthol.
“ I DO 9 Team” asked me:
- Why did the temperature of our mouths increase when we sucked candies with and without menthol?
- Why did the temperature increase more with candies containing menthol although we felt cold when we sucked these candies?
I, Dr. Minty, with the coordination with “I DO 9 Team” could propose the following three hypotheses to explain the raise in temperature associated with candies with menthol and candies without menthol.
-
Hypothesis A: May be the candies contained some sugars that are digested at the level of the mouth by the salivary amylase to release a small amount of energy.
-
Hypothesis B: May be the friction generated by the sucking of the candy on the tongue played a role in generating heat out of the mechanical energy.
- Hypothesis C: The mouth received a blood flow that is a normal response of a reflex (to the cold sensation generated by the presence of Menthol) that the body executed when the brain received a cold sensation nervous influx to restore the initial normal mouth temperature.
Testing Hypothesis A
To test Hypothesis A, we decided to have a close look at the composition of M4 (M) (candies with Menthol) and C2 (F) candies without Menthol.
We found that they contain both the same % of carbohydrates and other common organic substances as indicated in their ingredient composition.
|
M4 (M): |
C2 (F):
|
|
Isomalt, plant extract , menthol , natural color , acesulfam. |
Isomalt , malic acid , natural color , flavor , fruit extract , acesulfam.
|
This fact eliminates the fact that the chemical digestion of the organic substances by the salivary amylase may have increased the temperature of the mouth more in the case of menthol.
However, this verifies that menthol is the component causing the increase in the temperature, since the increase in the temperature with M4 (M) is significantly greater than that with C2 (F).
Testing Hypothesis B : A NEW Experiment was born!
I, Dr. Minty , coordinated with " I DO 9 team" to test hypothesis B " May be the friction generated by the sucking of the candy on the tongue played a role in generating heat out of the mechanical energy."
A member of “ I DO 9 Team” measured her mouth temperature before sucking "nothing" and then she sucked "nothing" for 1 minute and measured her mouth temperature again.
The obtained results are summarized in the following table and graphs:
|
Student code |
Before (B) °C |
After (B) °C |
T (BA)°C |
|
F |
35.7 |
36.5 |
+ 0.8 |
The obtained results verified hypothesis B:
Hypothesis B is verified, since the temperature increased after sucking nothing so the increase in the mouth temperature after sucking the control candies is partly because of friction.
Hypothesis C : verified or not?
Finally, I and “ I DO 9 team” did a research about the reflexes taking place in the body due to decrease in temperature and we found
Watch this video to discover our minty findings.
- The temperature of the mouth of human usually is neutral 37 degrees celcius.
- But when mint {containing menthol} enters the mouth ,menthol tricks the TRPM8 receptors that there is a cold feeling in the mouth.
- Then TRPM8 receptors open sodium and calcium channels to let the ions enter the neurons then a nervous message is created and sent to the brain.
- The brain feels the cold sensation, so it will try to do a reflex to restore the temperature that it thinks is dropping dur to the cold sensation it feels.
- The brain send nervous messages that will reach the blood vessels in the mouth , these latter will dilate and increase the blood flow to the area of the mouth.
- The temperature of the mouth will increase, although we are still feeling cold.
THE MYSTERY IS AT LAST REVEALED!!!!