Is this how/why aromatherapy works?
Immune system cells can *smell* ... and so can sperm. PREMIUM CONTENT
Past newsletters talked about using smell tests for dementia diagnosis, but also for covid infections. And there was the one on nasal exosomes sending stuff into the brain via the olfactory organ. Hmmm … nose - brain - immune linked. But what if those olfactory chemosensing receptors were also found outside the CNS and nasal cribriform plate - actually, all through the body.
What are they there for?
Olfactory receptors and taste receptors (e.g. for bitter, sweet and umami) are part of a large family of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Odor detection in mammals is mediated by hundreds of different receptors classified into five families: odorant receptors (ORs), VNO receptors (V1Rs and V2Rs), trace amine-associated receptors (TAARs), formyl peptide receptors (FPRs), and membrane-bound guanylyl cyclase (GC-D) receptors. Sieving through body tissues with their gene and/or protein probes lit up lots of them in surprising places.
Many naturally occurring odorants that can activate ORs are contained in essential plant oils, which can enter our body through the skin and lung or can be ingested with our daily food. Essential oils are mainly composed of volatile terpenes and terpenoids, as well as aromatic molecules. Several of these volatiles have been shown to activate ectopically expressed ORs and thus influence physiological processes in various human cells; several examples include β-ionone (roses and berries), citronellal (citrus species), citronellol (pelargonium), thymol (thyme), and geraniol (rose oil and citronella oil)… - Maßberg D, Hatt H 2018
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