NCBI ROFL: I wish I could add "artificial saliva" to this abstract.

Effects of adding fluids to solid foods on muscle activity and number of chewing cycles. "The production of a sufficient amount of saliva is indispensable for good chewing. In the present study, we examined the hypothesis that adding fluid to a food will facilitate the chewing process, especially for dry foods. The effect might be larger for subjects with relatively low salivary flow rates. Furthermore, adding fluids that contain mucins or alpha-amylase may have a larger facilitating effect on mastication than the addition of water alone. Twenty subjects chewed on melba toast, breakfast cake, carrot, peanut, and Gouda cheese. In addition, they chewed on these foods after different volumes of water, artificial saliva containing mucins, or a solution of alpha-amylase had been added. Muscle activity and number of chewing strokes until swallowing were measured. The salivary flow rates of the subjects were also determined. Adding fluid to the food significantly ...