Body Odours Sampled at Different Body Sites in Infants and Mothers—A Comparison of Olfactory Perception

Abstract

Body odours and their importance for human chemical communication, e.g., in the mother–child relationship, are an increasing focus of recent research. Precise examination of sampling methods considering physiology and feasibility aspects in order to obtain robust and informative odour samples is therefore necessary. Studies comparing body odour sampling at different body sites are still pending. Therefore, we sampled axilla, breast, and head odour from 28 mother–infant dyads and examined whether odour perception differs with regard to the body site. The participating mothers were asked to evaluate their own and their infant’s body odour samples, as well as odours of two unfamiliar mother–infant dyads. We tested whether maternal pleasantness and intensity evaluation, as well as recognition ability of the odours differed between the body sites. In infants, the head odour exhibited slightly lower pleasantness ratings than axilla and breast, and intensity ratings did not differ between body sites. In mothers, body site affected intensity ratings but not pleasantness ratings, as the breast odour was rated as less intense compared with head and axilla. Across all body sites, mothers rated the own and their infant’s odour as less intense when compared with unfamiliar samples. Recognition ability did not differ between body sites, and in line with previous studies, mothers were able to recognize their own and their own infant’s odour above chance. In sum, our study extends the previous methodological repertoire of body odour sampling and indicates that the axilla, breast, and head of adults as well as infants serve as informative odour sources.

Exploring the interrelationship between the skin microbiome and skin volatiles: A pilot study

“…Washing the sampling site as a means to standardize the donation of body odorants and volatiles was used in several studies (Curran et al, 2007;Hara et al, 2015;Hierl et al, 2021). Here, we evaluated the influence of washing the respective skin site with a moistened disposable washcloth (without detergent) individually for the body sites armpit and neck, considering the microbiome and VOCs.…”

Sensory evaluation of axillary odour samples of younger and older adults by a trained panel

“…BO has been proposed to convey information about physiological states and traits of the sender (e.g. health status, 3,4 dietary habits 5,6 or emotions 7,8 ) and to impact social relationships 9–13 . Age is one of the factors influencing the quality of BO, and with advancing age, a distinct ‘old person smell’ can develop.…”

“…health status, 3,4 dietary habits 5,6 or emotions 7,8 ) and to impact social relationships. [9][10][11][12][13] Age is one of the factors influencing the quality of BO, and with advancing age, a distinct 'old person smell' can develop. In Japanese language, a specific term exists for the 'old people smell', namely kareishuu.…”