A polymorphism of the ability to smell urinary metabolites of asparagus.
- 20 December 1980
- Vol. 281 (6256) , 1676-1678
- https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.281.6256.1676
Abstract
The urinary excretion of (an) odorous substance(s) after eating asparagus is not an inborn error of metabolism as has been supposed. The detection of the odour constitutes a specific smell hypersensitivity. Those who could smell the odour in their own urine could all smell it in the urine of anyone who had eaten asparagus, whether or not that person was able to smell it himself. Thresholds for detecting the odour appeared to be bimodal in distribution, with 10% of 307 subjects tested able to smell it at high dilutions, suggesting a genetically determined specific hypersensitivity.Keywords
This publication has 7 references indexed in Scilit:
- Smell and Taste Acuity in Epileptic SyndromesEuropean Neurology, 1978
- Volatile organic components in human urine after ingestion of asparagus.Clinical Chemistry, 1977
- Occurrence of S -Methyl Thioesters in Urines of Humans After They Have Eaten AsparagusScience, 1975
- Specific Anosmia: a Clue to the Olfactory CodeNature, 1967
- Studies on olfactory thresholds in normal man and in patients with adrenal cortical insufficiency: the role of adrenal cortical steroids and of serum sodium concentration.Journal of Clinical Investigation, 1966
- Increased Sensitivity of Taste and Smell in Cystic FibrosisScience, 1962
- Two Unifactorial Characters for which Man is PolymorphicNature, 1956