Ohgi Nozomi, Shirasu Mika, Ogura Yusuke, Hirasawa Yukei, Okamoto Masako, Kawamura Rieko, Takikawa Hirosato, Touhara Kazushige
Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI-IRCN), Institutes for Advanced Study, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
iScience. 2025 Jul 28;28(8):113087. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.113087. eCollection 2025 Aug 15.
In many animals, olfactory cues are key for recognizing their sex, kinship, and reproductive status. In humans, it has been proposed that males find female body odors attractive during the ovulatory phase, coinciding with peak fertility. However, the molecular and physiological foundations of this attractiveness remain unclear. In this study, we combined sensory evaluation with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for chemical analysis and identified volatile compounds that fluctuate across menstrual cycle phases. We identified three ovulatory phase-increasing compounds that mitigate the basal unpleasant axillary odor, resulting in the ovulatory-phase body odor being perceived as the most pleasant by males. Additionally, these compounds alleviated hostility and stress induced by the basal axillary odor, leading to relaxation in males and an enhanced positive impression of female facial images. Our results suggest that several ovulatory phase-increasing compounds may contribute to the positive effects of ovulatory female odor on males, as proposed in previous research.
在许多动物中，嗅觉线索是识别其性别、亲属关系和生殖状态的关键。在人类中，有人提出男性在排卵阶段会觉得女性体香有吸引力，这与生育高峰期相吻合。然而，这种吸引力的分子和生理基础仍不清楚。在本研究中，我们将感官评估与气相色谱-质谱联用进行化学分析，并鉴定出在月经周期各阶段波动的挥发性化合物。我们鉴定出三种在排卵阶段增加的化合物，它们减轻了腋下基本的难闻气味，使得男性认为排卵阶段的体香最宜人。此外，这些化合物减轻了由腋下基本气味引起的敌意和压力，使男性放松，并增强了对女性面部图像的积极印象。我们的结果表明，正如先前研究所提出的，几种在排卵阶段增加的化合物可能促成了排卵女性气味对男性的积极影响。
