Science has learned in the past that select bacteria can generate body odor, but a team of researchers, the same one who found the bacteria responsible for human body odor, has managed to track down the specific enzyme which influences the intensity.
The name of the enzyme is cysteine-thiol lyase (shortened as CT-lyase), and it can be found within bacteria like the Staphylococcus hominis. An entire industry sprung from the desire to smell as good as possible throughout the day, as billions of deodorants are sold across the world every year.
Learning more about the source
According to one of the researchers who contributed to the study, the new information is quite important, as it will facilitate the development of target inhibitors. These inhibitors will be able to prevent the presence of body odor without affecting the sensitive microbiome of the armpit.
One of the most interesting discoveries mentioned in the study is represented by the fact that body odor enzymes have been around when our early ancestors were primates, and they could have played an essential role in communication, as primates use body odor to send select messages.
The wish to smell good
Humans have wanted to smell good for a long while, as the use of perfumes and creams based on aromatic herbs can be traced back to ancient times. One example is Ancient Egypt, where all citizens used aromatic oils to make their skin smoother and smell better.
The roots of the deodorant industry can be traced back to the 19th century when the first versions of deodorants appeared. While the smell of sweat wasn’t appreciated in the past, deodorant manufacturers came up with commercials that shamed people who had a strong body odor in an attempt to convince them to purchase the novel product. The rest, as they say, is history.
More information can be found in the study, which was published in a scientific journal.
