2023-05-11 14:13:00
Every year, when the mosquitoes are back, are you their main prey? Everyone is not equal in the face of these insects and some seem to attract them more than others. But what is this due to? Several studies have looked into the subject. The smell would then be an important criterion. A recent study claims that soap might also make you more attractive to mosquitoes. The research was conducted by researchers at Virginia Tech University and published in the journal Iscience the 10th of 2023.
Every individual has a different body odor profile
For this study, the researchers analyzed the body odors of four participants, before and following they have washed. The volunteers all had a different brand of soap among the most popular in the United States: Dial, Dove, Native et Simple Truth. They analyzed these odors using chromatography, a technique that consists of separating the different substances present in a mixture. The team discovered that each person emits their own odor profile, some of which are more attractive to mosquitoes than others.
“Everyone smells differently, even following applying soap ; your physiological state, your lifestyle, what you eat and where you go affect your smell”, explains Chloé Lahondère, biologist and author of the study. However, if despite the soap the body odor remains different from that others, washing with soap has an impact on mosquito preferences. “Soaps radically change the way we smell, not only by adding chemicals, but also by causing variations in the release of compounds that we already produce naturally,” the authors explain. Thus, washing with soap made it possible to modify the odor profiles considerably and not only adding floral scents to the mix. The volunteers who washed themselves with the soaps Dove and Simple truth increase their attractiveness to mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes: What smells attract or repel mosquitoes?
With these results, the authors sought to know the mixtures of odors that might attract, or on the contrary repel, mosquitoes. “What really matters to the mosquito is not the most abundant chemical, but rather the specific associations and combinations of chemicalsnot only from soap, but also from our personal body odors”, explains the author.
Researchers have identified four products chchemicals associated with mosquito attraction and three chemicals associated with repellency. Among them, scientists have developed a coconut fragrant chemical and floral compound used to treat scabies. By combining these chemicals, the team developed attractive and repellent odor blends.
“With these blends, we eliminated any odor component by only including the chemicals that the statistics told us that they were important for attraction or repulsion“, explain the authors. According to them, the best repellent would therefore be a soap scented with coconut. However, this remains variable depending on the body profile of the individual.
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