Human scent as a first-line defense against disease

Individuals may have a different body odor, when they are sick compared to healthy. In the non-human animal literature, olfactory cues have been shown to predict avoidance of sick individuals. We tested whether the mere experimental activation of the innate immune system in healthy human individuals...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2023, Vol.13 (1), p.16709-16709, Article 16709
Main Authors: Gordon, Amy R., Lundström, Johan N., Kimball, Bruce A., Karshikoff, Bianka, Sorjonen, Kimmo, Axelsson, John, Lekander, Mats, Olsson, Mats J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
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Body odors
Chemical stimuli
Conspecifics
disease
Endotoxins
first-line defense
human scent
Humanities and Social Sciences
Immune system
Inflammation
Injection
Innate immunity
Lipopolysaccharides
Medicin och hälsovetenskap
multidisciplinary
Odors
olfactory cues
Olfactory stimuli
Psychology
psykologi
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
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Summary:Individuals may have a different body odor, when they are sick compared to healthy. In the non-human animal literature, olfactory cues have been shown to predict avoidance of sick individuals. We tested whether the mere experimental activation of the innate immune system in healthy human individuals can make an individuals’ body odor be perceived as more aversive (intense, unpleasant, and disgusting). Following an endotoxin injection (lipopolysaccharide; 0.6 ng/kg) that creates a transient systemic inflammation, individuals smelled more unpleasant compared to a placebo group (saline injection). Behavioral and chemical analyses of the body odor samples suggest that the volatile components of samples from “sick” individuals changed qualitatively rather than quantitatively. Our findings support the hypothesis that odor cues of inflammation in axillary sweat are detectable just a few hours after experimental activation of the innate immune system. As such, they may trigger behavioral avoidance, hence constituting a first line of defense against pathogens of infected conspecifics.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-023-43145-3