Just as fingerprints identify no one but ourselves, new research says our body’s aroma may be just as unique. Our individual “odortypes” are thought to remain constant regardless of what we eat but certain illnesses may alter it.

Researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center put odortypes to the test recently, using mice as study subjects in a test comparing diet and the genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), which share some genetic activity with the immune system. Body fluids, including sweat and urine, emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), airborne chemicals that produce an aroma. Some foods, such as large amounts of garlic, alter body odors, too.

Lead researcher Gary Beauchamp, PhD, used mice with different genetic MHC profiles and diets in an effort to see if mice trained to rely on their sense of smell (sensor mice) could detect differences in the test mice. The VOCs in each test mouse’s urine were measured using chemical analysis.

The sensor mice were able to detect which mice had different MHC profiles, regardless of the test mouse’s diet. Diets were altered to confirm the finding.

Beauchamp, who published his research online in the October 31 issue of PLoS ONE, says his study indicates odortypes are consistent enough to reliably identify individuals and suggests the link may apply to humans, too. He says similar studies are under way to identify the way certain diseases, such as lung and skin cancers and some viral diseases, affect body odor, with the expectation of finding earlier means of detection and diagnosis.

Source: Monell Chemical Senses Center