Researchers have focused on the source of our stench.
The same team that identified the handful of bacteria responsible for the smell of the human body has now gone one step further and identified the enzyme that works in these organisms. It's a cysteine-thiol-lyase (CT-lyase) enzyme in bacteria like Staphylococcus hominis that forms the actual stinky molecules that have inspired an entire deodorant industry to contain them.
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"This is a critical advance in understanding how body odor works and enables the development of targeted inhibitors that stop BO production at the source without disrupting the armpit microbiome," said University of York researcher Dr. Michelle Rudden, in a press release.
Rudden is a co-author of a paper on the enzyme that was published in Scientific Reports on Monday. The researchers worked in collaboration with scientists from the giant Unilever for personal care products that may use the new knowledge to develop new deodorant products.
Perhaps the most interesting finding from research is that these smelly enzymes have been in humans since then, well ... since we were humans. The researchers say it was on the way to our primates ancestors before the evolution of modern humans and may have played a key role in social communication. It is known that primates use smells to send a message, e.g. B. "Back".
"This research has opened our eyes," said Dr. Gordon James, co-author of Unilever. "It was fascinating to discover that an important odor-producing enzyme is only present in a few selected armpit bacteria and developed there millions of years ago."
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