Human skin can 'sniff' the smell

Human skin can smell itself and other odors, according to a new study, which also identifies a pleasant and popular scent, which promotes skin healing.

Research published in the latest issue of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology reinforces an earlier discovery that olfactory receptors - proteins that detect odors - do not only exist in the nose.

"The receptors in our nose recognize only a small amount of aromatics. The scent can take on minor functions in the human body , " said chemist Peter Schieberle from Munich Technical University. (Germany), said.

Mr. Schieberle and his colleagues once discovered that the heart, blood and lungs of all people possessed olfactory receptors. However, another research group led by expert Ester Feldmesser of the Weizmann Institute of Science (Germany) suggests that these odor sensors can exist everywhere, both inside and outside our bodies.

With the new study, expert Daniela Busse from Ruhr University - Bochum and her team provided the first evidence that such cells exist inside the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. These German experts not only identified five different types of receptors in human skin keratinocytes (cell types that dominate the epidermis), but also cloned one of them, called OR2AT4 .

In human skin contains many sensory receptors, helping to detect different scents.(Artwork: Thinkstock)

The team then gave targeted "vaporized" cells contact with the Sandalore compound, a synthetic sandalwood odorant. Experts focus on sandalwood oil for at least 4,000 years, the essential oil from Southeast Asia sandalwood has been appreciated when used as perfume and medicinal ingredients for skin treatment.

They found that Sandalore compound has activated cloning cells on the skin, thus promoting a wave of calcium signaling, significantly increasing the growth and movement of the cells. This process is characteristic of wound healing.

Busse's team did not know exactly why synthetic sandalwood oil seems to be so effective, but they suspect that this compound somehow assists in the interaction between the skin-dominating skin cells. Epidermis and nerve cells are also found to reside in the skin.

Another study, published recently in the journal Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, discovered that in laboratory tests, East Indian sandalwood oil killed premature precancerous cells in the skin, leaving healthy skin. Sally Dickinson, head of research from Arizona University's Arizona Cancer Center, explained that sandalwood essential oil has been reported to bring many health benefits to humans because of its anti-inflammatory properties and antiseptic.

Tests are still ongoing, so no one has spoken out to recommend that people should buy products with the essential oils of men. Even so, new research has shown the body's sensitivity and even human skin to the scent. It also opens up the prospect of new dermatological treatments with fewer side effects.