Zeroing in on bacteria that kicks up a stink

HELP is finally at hand for those who struggle with body odour.

New research has claimed to have found a way to stop the smell being made at all.

British researchers have discovered that not all bacteria living in our armpit skin are responsible for causing pungent smells, and instead have found a single key protein is involved in the release of those unwanted odours.

This breakthrough research means that a new generation of deodorants could be developed to disrupt the protein’s function.

“This study, along with our previous research revealing that only a small number of the bacteria in our armpits are actually responsible for bad smells, could result in the development of more targeted products that aim to inhibit the transport protein and block the production of BO,” said the study’s co-author Dr Gavin Thomas, from the University of York.

The results, published in the journal eLife, found only a small population of the bacteria of the staphylococcus family takes part in transforming odourless molecules we secrete through our skin glands into smelly components.

The research team was then able to see the transport protein’s detailed structure by crystallising it in labs and analysing the data to find how it works and how to target it.

“Modern deodorants work by inhibiting or killing many of the bacteria present in our underarms in order to prevent BO,” Dr Thomas explained.

“We could develop products to block the production of BO.” www.bodyandsoul.com.au