Few parents would describe the smell emanating from their adolescent children as that of sandalwood. However, in response to them, one of the characteristic components of a young person’s body odor is a compound that brings to mind a warm, woody scent. little latest studyby which the smells of teenagers were compared with those of babies and young children.
Unfortunately, that’s where the excellent news ends for teenagers (and their parents). Although there have been many similarities between the chemicals released by teenagers and infants, the differences generally favored younger children, whose body odor samples contained higher levels of the flowery-smelling compound. Teenagers, alternatively, produced a compound that smelled of sweat and urine and had higher levels of substances described as smelling low-cost, musty, and “goaty.”
The authors of the study, published Thursday within the journal Communications Chemistry, didn’t go up to now as to say that the outcomes prove that teenagers smell worse than children. However, the differences they documented “may contribute to the less pleasant body odor of teenagers,” said Diana Owsienko, who conducted the study as part of her doctoral research on the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany. (He is currently a researcher on the Swedish research institutes RISE.)
Body odor is a fancy mixture of airborne chemicals, many of that are created when sweat and sebum – an oily substance often secreted by hair follicles – are broken down by skin microbes or react with other compounds within the air. Scientists say the differences in smell between young children and teenagers are likely on account of changes in sweat and sebum production that occur during puberty.
The study was conducted on samples from 18 toddlers as much as 3 years of age and 18 adolescents who had undergone puberty. To collect body odor samples, researchers sewed small cotton patches into the armpits of T-shirts and bodysuits that children and teenagers wore overnight. (Participants were asked to refrain from using scented sanitary products and eating particularly scented foods, resembling onions and garlic, for 48 hours beforehand.)
In the lab, the researchers isolated and analyzed the chemicals that permeated the patches by pooling samples from multiple children in the identical age group.
Scientists found that odor samples taken from young children contained most of the identical chemical components as samples taken from teenagers.
But there have been two compounds, each steroids, that were only present within the adolescent samples. Sweat glands, which change into lively only during puberty, secrete precursors of these compounds, which skin microorganisms transform into the steroids in query.
Characterizing odors is difficult. “There is no global consensus on how to describe fragrances,” said Helene Loos, aroma and fragrance researcher on the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and writer of the brand new paper.
University fragrance experts had previously developed a regular vocabulary to characterize the odors of various compounds, initially specializing in food flavors. “We have now extended this taste language to also include substances found in body odors,” Dr. Loos said.
Careful inhalation of the teenagers’ steroids revealed that one of the compounds smelled of sandalwood and musk. The second one also had a musky quality, with unlucky additions of sweat and urine-like aromas.
Teenagers also had higher levels of compounds called carboxylic acids. These included musty, cheesy and goaty substances, in addition to those with less offensive aromas variously described as earthy, fruity or waxy.
Carboxylic acids are contained in sebum, which also comprises other compounds that could be converted into carboxylic acids by microorganisms or various chemical processes. Sebum production increases during puberty.
Scientists theorize that the mix of two musk steroids and better levels of carboxylic acids may explain why teenage body odor could be off-putting to some people.
“I think it is difficult to say that one smell is always pleasant for everyone and to say that another smell is always unpleasant for every person,” said Ms. Owsienko. “So that’s an assumption on our part.”
