Stinky armpits? the fault of a protein



[ad_1]

The axillary odor, as well as that of the feet and the groin, is part of the list of physiological odors, therefore entirely natural, emanating regularly from the body. However, when these exhalations exceed a certain threshold of "tolerability", this "smell" turns into a real smell.

Fortunately, one of the key points of the process was unveiled that odorless molecules, produced in our underarms with sweat, they turn into volatile chemicals with a distinctly bitter and pungent aroma, often unpleasant to l & # 39; smell. This paves the way for a new generation of more effective deodorants, as University of York researchers explain in the study published in the journal Elife

The same group of researchers previously had discovered that it was a small number of bacteria of the species of Staphylococcus the cause of the unpleasant odor that sometimes comes out of our armpits, but it does not n '# 39; was not clear how these bacteria might be able to turn odorless molecules into smelly ones. A process now less obscure because the first step has been deciphered: the molecular structure of a protein "transporter" has been identified and badyzed in detail, allowing bacteria to recognize and swallow odorless compounds sweat.

The skin of our underarms offers a unique niche for these bacteria, "says study coordinator, Gavin Thomas. "Today, many deodorants act a little like a nuclear bomb under the armpits, inhibiting or killing most of the bacteria present to prevent unpleasant smells, but in reality it's only a small one." many of them provoking them, "he continues. These Staphylococcus bacteria use the transport protein to recognize and swallow odorless sweat compounds that turn into bad smells. Having seen the structure of this protein will be able to help develop new types of deodorants that can block their functioning.

The smell of our body is an indicator of the state of health
The smell that our body emanates is an expression of our general state of health and that starts from our gut, as Hippocrates said, the father of medicine. In particular, the types of bacteria that colonize our body to decide the odor that we emit. And what decides which bacteria do we host?

Mainly two reasons: 1) The type of food, or what we feed these bacteria, can promote the proliferation of some strains and the destruction of others; 2) Stress promotes the growth of pathogenic bacteria and the decrease of favorable symbiotic bacteria.

Share this article:

[ad_2]
Source link