Lenochova Pavlina, Roberts S Craig, Havlicek Jan
Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Humanities, Charles University, Husnikova 2075, 158 00 Prague 13, Czech Republic.
Chem Senses. 2009 Feb;34(2):127-38. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjn067. Epub 2008 Nov 12.
Body odor sampling is an essential tool in human chemical ecology research. However, methodologies of individual studies vary widely in terms of sampling material, length of sampling, and sample processing. Although these differences might have a critical impact on results obtained, almost no studies test validity of current methods. Here, we focused on the effect of freezing samples between collection and use in experiments involving body odor perception. In 2 experiments, we tested whether axillary odors were perceived differently by raters when presented fresh or having been frozen and whether several freeze-thaw cycles affected sample quality. In the first experiment, samples were frozen for 2 weeks, 1 month, or 4 months. We found no differences in ratings of pleasantness, attractiveness, or masculinity between fresh and frozen samples. Similarly, almost no differences between repeatedly thawed and fresh samples were found. We found some variations in intensity; however, this was unrelated to length of storage. The second experiment tested differences between fresh samples and those frozen for 6 months. Again no differences in subjective ratings were observed. These results suggest that freezing has no significant effect on perceived odor hedonicity and that samples can be reliably used after storage for relatively long periods.
体味采样是人类化学生态学研究中的一项重要工具。然而，个体研究的方法在采样材料、采样时长和样品处理方面差异很大。尽管这些差异可能会对所得结果产生重大影响，但几乎没有研究对当前方法的有效性进行测试。在此，我们聚焦于在涉及体味感知的实验中，样品在采集与使用之间冷冻所产生的影响。在两项实验中，我们测试了腋窝气味在新鲜呈现或冷冻后，评分者对其的感知是否不同，以及多次冻融循环是否会影响样品质量。在第一个实验中，样品分别冷冻2周、1个月或4个月。我们发现新鲜样品和冷冻样品在愉悦度、吸引力或阳刚之气的评分上没有差异。同样，反复解冻的样品和新鲜样品之间几乎也没有差异。我们发现强度存在一些变化；然而，这与储存时长无关。第二个实验测试了新鲜样品与冷冻6个月的样品之间的差异。同样未观察到主观评分上的差异。这些结果表明，冷冻对感知到的气味享乐性没有显著影响，并且样品在储存较长时间后仍可可靠使用。
