the amelioration of olfactory acuity upon sexual maturation might affect food preferences嗅觉敏锐的改良性成熟可能影响食物的偏好.pdfVIP

Nutrients 2009, 1, 3-17; doi:10.3390/nu1010003 OPEN ACCESS nutrients ISSN 2072-6643 /journal/nutrients Review The Amelioration of Olfactory Acuity upon Sexual Maturation Might Affect Food Preferences Enrico Bignetti 1,*, Fiorella Sinesio 2, Gaetano L. Aiello 3 and Carlo Cannella 2 1 Lab. “Food Neurochemistry”, University of Parma, 43100 Parma, Italy 2 “National Research Institute for Food and Nutrition” (INRAN), Viale Ardeatina 546, 00178 Roma, Italy; E-Mails: sinesio@inran.it (F.S.); carlo.cannella@uniroma1.it (C.C.) 3 Dept. of Physics Related Technologies (DIFTER), University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze (Ed. #18), 90128 Palermo, Italy; E-Mail: aiello@difter.unipa.it * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: enrico.bignetti@unipr.it Received: 14 April 2009 / Accepted: 14 May 2009 / Published: 10 June 2009 Abstract: Upon sexual maturation, olfactory acuity in women ameliorates and starts oscillating across the cycle. During ovulation, mean olfactory threshold is 30 times lower than during bleeding. Interestingly, menstruated women undergo maleodorant trimethylaminuria. We argued that olfactory amelioration during ovulation might concur to a mating strategy, whereas olfactory impairment during bleeding might protect women against self-refusal. Testosterone and its 17β-estradiol derivative might be responsible for the synchronization of these menstrual events. Furthermore, we posed the question whether olfactory detection