Old person smell
Odor of elderly humans
- 1 min read
- 2 chapters
Related on Lably
Through Ageing, Saturated and unsaturated compounds and Aldehyde
Biology
One study suggested that old person smell may be the result of 2-nonenal, an unsaturated aldehyde which is associated with human body odor alterations during aging. Another study failed to detect 2-nonenal at all, but found significantly increased concentrations of benzothiazole, dimethyl sulfone, and nonanal on older subjects. There are also other hypotheses, such as change of the monounsaturated fatty acid composition of skin surface lipids and the increase of lipid peroxides associated with aging.
In 2012, the Monell Chemical Senses Center published a press release claiming that the human ability to identify information such as age, illness, and genetic suitability from odor is responsible for the distinctive "old man smell". Sensory neuroscientist Johan Lundström stated, "Elderly people have a discernible underarm odor that younger people consider to be fairly neutral and not very unpleasant."
Sign in to keep reading
One more chapter is free with a Lably account.
In Japan
Old person smell is known as kareishū (加齢臭) in Japan, where much social value is placed on personal grooming, and specific upmarket odor-eliminating soaps are targeted at more elderly consumers. Kareishū (加齢臭) cannot be removed by regular soap , so soap specifically utilizing Japanese persimmon extract is used to counter the buildup of 2-nonenal with tannins. Persimmon tannins act as natural, astringent odor eliminators that bind to and neutralize nonenal.