Scientists discover enzyme which causes body odour in ‘step towards cure’

A unique enzyme that causes body odour has been discovered by scientists, who belive it is a key step towards developing “targeted inhibitors” to stop the production of the pungent smell.

Researchers from the University of York collaborated with scientists from Unilever and discovered the “BO enzyme” that is responsible for the characteristic smell of armpit odour. It is found within bacteria present in the armpit.

The reason why modern humans developed body odour is unclear, but the scientists believe this discovery “implies that body odour production… is an ancient process”.

The armpit hosts a diverse community of bacteria which are part of the natural skin microbiome, and the study, published in science journal Nature, focused on Staphylococcus hominis as one of the main microbes behind body odour.

Apart from furthering the search for an effective product to eliminate body odour, the discovery also raises “important questions about the role of odour production in the evolution of modern humans”, said researchers.

They found that the BO enzyme was present in S. hominis before the emergence of Homo sapiens as a species, which suggests that body odour may have had an important role in societal communication among ancestral primates.

“This research was a real eye-opener,” said Unilever co-author Dr Gordon James. “It was fascinating to discover that a key odour-forming enzyme exists in only a select few armpit bacteria – and evolved there tens of millions of years ago.”

Co-author Dr Michelle Rudden, from the University of York’s Department of Biology, said: “Solving the structure of this ‘BO enzyme’ has allowed us to pinpoint the molecular step inside certain bacteria that makes the odour molecules.

“This is a key advancement in understanding how body odour works, and will enable the development of targeted inhibitors that stop BO production at source without disrupting the armpit microbiome.”