Application of the rate-all-that-apply method to explore the perception of flavours provided by e-cigarettes: Importance of 1.3-propanediol

The self-administration of nicotine using e-cigarettes involves the use of liquids containing both solvent and aroma. The vaping appeal is enhanced by the sensory perception of flavours. Thus, an important attention may be paid to the choice of the refill liquid. For this purpose, this study aimed to evaluate the potential of 1,3-propanediol (PDO, vegetal solvent) and 1,3-butanediol (BDO, vegetal solvent), in replacing the chemical one such 1,2-propanediol (PG) while maintaining sensory pleasure and ensuring the wellbeing. The work was conducted with 30 participants accustomed to vaping. Three flavours have been selected, menthol, vanillin and pyrazine, respectively, to provide the most preferred perceptions which are respectively mint, sweet and tobacco. The Rate-All-That-Apply (RATA) method was chosen since it is rapid and robust. Menthol/PDO and menthol/PG exhibited a close olfactive profile, described as minty, cold and sweet. A similar finding has been observed for vanillin/PDO and vanillin/PG. The use of BDO provided different perceptions in comparison with PDO and PG regardless of the type of flavour. It was found to be the most suitable for pyrazine perception. These results were enhanced by the application of the agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC). The obtained dendrogram was composed of three groups according to their similarities, where e-liquids containing PDO, and PG belongs to the same groups for both menthol and vanillin.