Measurement of human olfactory thresholds for several groups of structurally related compounds

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Thresholds have been calculated for 58 different compounds using a standardized olfactometric procedure. The same group of subjects was used as often as possible throughout the study. Comparison of the thresholds found in this study with those found in other studies shows that there is a surprisingly good agreement in the relative values of the thresholds. Comparison of absolute values found in the various studies show large differences. Reliability of pooled group thresholds measured under identical conditions is very high; for the same compound an absolute difference of a factor 4 was found. Individual thresholds have a low reliability, which is most likely due to the limited sets of data on which they are based. From these data it can be concluded that consistency in individual sensitivity to different odors is due to non-specific factors. There is no evidence that there are odor related patterns in individual sensitivity. No sex differences in sensitivity were found. Comparison of different methods of calculation showed no effect on the threshold values, nor did reducing the number of subjects. It is concluded that the method described by Dravnieks (1976) using at least 10 subjects is the most convenient one.