Je. Comettomuniz et Ws. Cain, PERCEPTION OF ODOR AND NASAL PUNGENCY FROM HOMOLOGOUS SERIES OF VOLATILE ORGANIC-COMPOUNDS, Indoor air, 4(3), 1994, pp. 140-145
Citations number
14
Categorie Soggetti
Construcion & Building Technology","Engineering, Civil
We tested nasal detection thresholds for airborne chemicals in a group
of anosmics (i.e., subjects lacking a functional sense of smell) and
in a group of age-, gender-, and smoking-status-matched normosmics (i.
e., subjects with normal olfaction). Anosmics provided odor unbiased n
asal pungency (irritation) thresholds. Normosmics provided odor thresh
olds. Homologous series of alcohols, acetates, and ketones served as s
timuli. Eye irritation thresholds were also measured for selected acet
ates. Most substances evoked pungency (i.e., were detected by the anos
mics). All sensory thresholds decreased systematically with carbon cha
in length. The gap between pungency and odor grew larger with increasi
ng carbon chain length. Pungency thresholds - but not odor thresholds
- showed a uniform linear relationship of slope close to unity with sa
turated vapor concentration, irrespective of chemical functionality or
carbon chain length. This suggests that pungency from nonreactive air
borne chemicals rests heavily on a relatively unspecific physical inte
raction with a susceptible biophase. Of relevance to indoor environmen
ts, such an interaction opens the possibility for a high degree of sen
sory addition of pungency front individual components of complex mixtu
res resulting in noticeable irritation even when each component is at
a level well below threshold value.