Is the end of body odour in sight? Scientists discover how armpit bacteria produce pungent smells, paving the way for new targeted deodorants
- Body odour is caused by bacteria breaking down sugars released in sweat
- Scientists have now worked out how bacteria do this, and say they could stop it
- This could lead to deodorants which stop sweat ever making a smell at all
Help is at hand for those struggling to fight off unwelcome armpit aromas during the heatwave, because scientists have come a step closer to blocking body odour.
Researchers have unravelled a key part of the process by which armpit bacteria produce the most pungent component of the nauseating smell we recognise as BO.
The findings could herald better deodorants with targeted active ingredients, the team from the University of York claims.
Whereas deodorant normally tries to tackle the smelly bacteria or just cover up the odour, this could reveal a way to prevent the smell being made in the first place.
The role of bacteria in the production of BO has been known for some time and scientists have recently discovered a small number of species of bacteria are responsible for the most pungent component of the whiff in our pits.
However, until now, little has been understood about the how they create the smell when we sweat.
Current deodorants try to kill bacteria which are making a smell, whereas new science could produce ones which stop the smell ever being made in the first place, scientists say
Sweaty smells are created when bacteria take up odourless compounds, which we secrete into our underarms when we sweat, and convert them into other chemicals.
Researchers have now worked out the first step in this process by finding the ‘transport’ molecule which enables bacteria to recognise and swallow up the odourless compounds.
Understanding the structure of this transport protein means that a new generation of deodorants could be developed to disrupt its function, the scientists say.
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Instead of just tackling the bacteria which make the smell or trying to cover it up, it could be possible to stop the smell being made at all.
Co-author of the research, Dr Gavin Thomas from the University of York, said: ‘The skin of our underarms provides a unique niche for bacteria.
WOMEN PREFER THE SMELL OF MEN WHO EAT FRUIT AND VEG
Researchers at Macquarie University in Australia found last year that women prefer the body odour of men who eat a fruit and vegetable-packed diet.
In a study male participants were asked to complete food questionnaires about their eating patterns.
They were all then given clean shirts and asked to do a series of exercises.
Afterwards, female participants were given the shirts to sniff and asked to describe and rate the scents.
They were give a list of 21 descriptors and asked to say how attractive, strong or healthy the shirts smelled.
When they compiled the answers, researchers noted that there were certain descriptors that were frequently grouped together.
Based on that, they made a list of factors that suggest how good the shirts smelled.
The factors were:
- Animal – animal, meaty, oily
- Floral – floral, fruity, sweet and medicinal
- Chemical – chemical or burnt
- Fishy – fish, egg, garlic, yeast, sour, tobacco
Results showed overwhelmingly that men who ate more fruits and vegetables were rated as smelling more attractive and healthy than men who ate a lot of carbohydrates.
They also found that men who ate a lot of meats were described as having a more intense smell, but that smell was not considered to be bad. And men who ate a carbohydrate-heavy diet produced the least attractive odors.
‘Through the secretions of various glands that open onto the skin or into hair follicles, this environment is nutrient-rich and hosts its own microbial community, the armpit microbiome, of many species of different microbes.
‘Modern deodorants work by inhibiting or killing many of the bacteria present our underarms in order to prevent BO.
‘We could develop products to block the production of BO’
‘This study, along with our previous research revealing that only a small number of the bacteria in our armpits are actually responsible for bad smells, could result in the development of more targeted products that aim to inhibit the transport protein and block the production of BO.’
The researchers were able to see the transport protein’s detailed structure by crystallising it in labs and analysing the data to find how it works and how to target it.
The process provided insight that may also have important implications for medical science.
The team’s findings are published in the journal eLife.
Just three bacteria are responsible for most sweaty smells
In a study published in 2015, also by the University of York, British scientists identified the bug behind body odour.
Researchers already knew that sweat itself was odourless, but they discovered the undesirable problem occurs when bacteria feast on the sugary proteins in sweat, releasing foul-smelling chemicals called thioalcohols in the process.
Thioalcohols are so pungent that even tiny amounts – one drop in a trillion drops of water – can create a stink.
The scientists set about identifying which bugs make the most thioalcohols and revealed just three that live on the underarm sklin could do it well.
All were members of the staphylococcus family, and scientists were then able to go further and identify the key genes responsible.
Lead researcher Dr Dan Bawdon said: ‘It was surprising that this particular body odour pathway is governed by only a small number of the many bacterial species residing in the underarm.’
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