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A whiff of a story |
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Of course, once the job was done he put it right back in its place again. And Gandhamardan stands tall even today in western Orissa, with its treasure of fragrant plants. Of course, the stock is much depleted, since the era of the Ramayana. But even now it is used as a source of raw material, not only by the local vaids traditional medics), but by large pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies. But this is not the tale of Gandhamardan, picturesque as it might be. It is about the power of smell, and the role it plays in the life of a human being. And about the multibillion dollar global industry it sustains.
First, some basic facts about the sense of smell, more formally called Olfaction. It is probably the most interesting sense among the five senses, that help us to communicate with the Planet Earth and its mysterious elements. Primitive men and women used it solely to figure out what was safe to eat. But Olfaction obviously had a far more colourful connection with the brain, as human beings found out as they evolvedand grew. The story of Lakshman’s recovery narrates how— since the beginning of civilization— aromatic plants have been used for medicinal, therapeutic purposes. Now let me tell you the fascinating tale of a man who lived in the past century. A French author called Marcel Proust. In his novel Swann’s Way, he describes how the smell and taste of a piece of Madeline, a homemade sweet, dipped in a decoction of limeblossom, opened the floodgate of his memories—-resurrecting vivid visions of a long-forgotten town, where he lived in his childhood. “Immediately the old grey house upon the street….rose up like a stage set ... and with the house the town, from morning to night and in all weathers,” he writes. Have’t we all experienced the ‘Proustian effect’ some time or other in our lives? A whiff of freshly fried savouries conjuring up images of Diwalis spent years ago with grandparents. Or smell of crackling new paper dragging out the picture of a classroom in a primary school— from the depths of our memories… There is no doubt whatsoever that smell affects our memory and our emotions. Pretty deeply. Blind people can recognize visitors by their smell. Helen Keller could sometimes identify a person’s occupation as soon as he entered the room! Smell also contributes significantly to taste. Without it, everything we eat or drink would be dull and lifeless.
When you have a head cold and your nose is blocked, doesn’t every morsel you put in your mouth taste like cardboard? This is because the human olfactory system is large and is located very close to the key parts of the brain (see box: How do we smell?). In other words, we human beings, like most other animals, are under the spell of smell. Scent of money So, it is not difficult to understand why fragrances have alwaysbeen dear. In ancient cultures, herbs, plants, animal extracts, and every other source of aroma were considered precious commodities. (see centre spread). Fragrant oils, pastes, and spices were so much in demand that their value was equated with that of gold. If our Indian epics like Ramayana are redolent with references of aromatic products, they have been mentioned 188 times in the Bible! (says Dr Gary Young, a Utah-based aromacologist). hey were used for aking perfumes, cosmetics, cooking ingredients, and incense.. And, of course for medicinal purposes. Things have not changed much,since. At least on this front. Today, world sales of fragrance and flavors materials are estimated at US $ 10-15 billion per year. 25 per cent of these materials are used in cosmetics and toiletries (includes perfumes), 34 per cent are used in soap and detergents with the remaining 41 per cent used in a variety of other products like candles, air fresheners, aromatherapy oils and pesticides. We can taste only what we smell. A blocked nose can ruin a royal buffet |
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The sense of smell is called Olfaction. It includes the detection and perception of chemicals floating in the air. The role of the olfactory bulb in smell was revealed by Ramon y Cajal, a Spanish neuro-atomist, in 1890. Chemical molecules enter the nose and dissolve in mucous within a membrane called the Olfactory Epithelium. In humans, the Olfactory Epithelium is located about 7 cm up and into the nose from the nostrils. When a smell enters the nasal cavity, it meets receptor neurons. Humans possess approximately 10 million olfactory receptor cells. Each receptor end is a swelling, or knob with approximately 5 hairs (Cilia). These receptor neurons then convert the smell into a message that is sent to the olfactory bulb (which is seen as part of the forebrain and its main sensory input). The processing of the smell begins here, and is then passed onto other areas of the brain like the limbic system that control emotions, behavior and basic thought processes. About 95 per cent of the nasal cavity is unrelated to smelling and a very small amount of air actually reaches the olfactory bulb. We have to inhale, and increase the velocity of our air intake to smell things. The lightest molecules travel farthest and large molecules have less smell. Mixed bag The fragrance industry is actually like a box of assorted candies. It contains a wide range of related industries. It includes the flavour-makers—because the substances used in creating taste and conjuring up smell are mostly common. There are companies which manufacture smell out of natural resources like plants and animal extracts Then there are chemical industries which develop fragrances from synthetic chemicals. Again, there are some industries which sell products formulated only for their aroma—like perfumes and spices. And there are others which market functional items like deodorants, soaps, detergents, to which fragrance has been added. Making aroma Producing the right smell is a highly specialised technology, that involves several intricate processes. A team of experts ranging from ‘creators’ who select the raw materials, to skilled technicians and chemists who analyse and synthesise the ingredients take part in different stages of production. This is how it is done. The aroma ingredients, that is, extracts from flowers, fruits, vegetables and other natural materials, usually have chemical functions of alcohol, aldehyde, ketone or ester. Once the selection of materials is made, they are separated, analysed, and synthesised in chemical laboratories. Is the smell just right? Then comes the most important stage—olfactory evaluation. Some aroma chemicals are produced in a fairly large scale while numerous others are manufactured in a very small volume. So it is absolutely critical to measure odour, in order to ensure that what is being cooked up will appeal to the nose! Many sophisticated devices and apparatus have been developed in the state-of-the-art production units of the upmarket smell-makers. But the final directive is still issued by the highest authority—the human nose. So all fragrance companies have their panel of ‘sniffers’—trained professionals with sensitive snouts, who can distinguish thousands of odours and retain memory from session to session. The measurements are made by applying mathematical formulae. The criteria set may vary—but the there are four commonly used ones. They are:
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Aromatherapy Aromatherapy is the use of volatile liquid plant materials and other aromatic compounds from plants to affect the mood or health of a person. It is commonly associated with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The word was coined in the 1920s by French chemist René Maurice Gattefossé. In an laboratory accident he lit his arm on fire and thrust it into the nearest cold liquid, which was a vat of lavender oil. Much to his amazement, the burn quickly healed without a scar! Some of the materials employed include: Essential oils: Fragrant oils extracted from plants chiefly through distillation or expression and by any solvent extraction. Absolutes: Fragrant oils extracted primarily from flowers or delicate plant tissues through solvent or supercritical fluid extraction. The term is also used to describe oils extracted from fragrant butters, concretes, and enfleurage pommades using ethanol. Phytoncides: Various volatile organic compounds from plants that kill microbes. Recipe of aroma: the ingredients Nature is the primary supplier of the raw materials— flowers, plants, herbs, fruits and vegetables—everything is used by the fragrance makers. At least they are supposed to! In reality, as demand has grown and volumes of products increased, synthetic chemicals have replaced the real stuff. But first, let me tell you about Nature’s treasure trove of aroma ingredients. It is too vast and varied to describe in details. Here are some highlights: Fragrant plants Essential Oils are natural substances that are extracted from grasses, flowers, herbs, shrubs, trees, resins and spices, usually through steam distillation, such as: Sandalwood Oil: Possibly originally introduced from the Timor islands, the parasitic sandalwood trees. The market price of East Indian sandalwood at the time of writing is £425 per kilo! Balsam Peru Oil: It is derived from a large tropical tree up to 25m high, with straight smooth trunk, beautiful foliage and very fragrant flowers. Lavender Oil: Lavender is a timeless classic and one of the most versatile essential oils of its kind, produced from only flowers and flower-stalks. Cedarwood Oil: Cedarwood Virginiana is a coniferous, evergreen tree up to 33m high with a narrow, dense and pramidal crown. Extracted by steam distillation from the timber waste, sawdust, and shavings. Cinnamon Leaf Oil: Cinnamon Leaf grows on a tropical evergreen up to 15m high, with shiny green leaves, small white flowers and oval bluishwhite berries. Eucalyptus Oil: Eucalyptus tress are tall, aromatic evergreen tree of the myrtle family, bearing pendent leaves and umbels of white, red, or pink flowers and valued for the timber, gum and oil. Rosewood, Jasmine, Ylang Ylan, Patchoul, Lime, Clove Leaf, Menthol, Peppermint, Tea Tree. The list is endless...find out more and add to the list. Scent of an animal
Yes, in ancient cultures animal parts and extracts were used in perfumery, in cosmetics, and in medicines. Now, use of all these following products are banned: |
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Smell of death Experts say loss of species is now running upto 1000 times its natural rate. While aroma makers are by no means the largest users of living organisms, its time to exercise caution.Certainly any product that requires threatened species as its cooking ingredient must be banned at once! All about synthetics Today’s fragrances are more than 90 per cent synthetic chemicals. As many as 7000 Volatile Organic Compounds (a very large family of chemicals which includes all the organic compounds containing carbon, and which readily evaporate into the air) are used in the fragrance industry in combinations that make our neurosensors believe that we are smelling a particular scent. We can create everything from rose-scented body lotions to the lemony smell of soaps. Copies of expensive Frenchperfumes, made of cheap synthetics, of course — dominate the market. The problem is: at least 80 per cent of these ingredients have never been tested for human toxicity. In other words, no one really knows what kind of impact these chemicals—found in our everyday-use items have on a human body!!! Safety net Worldwide: They are called the Premarketing Notifications (PMNs). Before any new chemical is introduced for use, the companies must produce reports on its effect on health and environment. So say the the European Directive on Dangerous Substances. In the United Staes,too, aroma plants must comply with the “Right to Know” laws. But how fool-proof are these measures? No one knows. India:Non-existent laws. Most of these products here are sold over the counter, not as items that need prescriptions from experts. So most safety norms do not apply to them at all...
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Try drinking a glass of sweet fruit juice while you hold your nose. It will taste almost like water. You see, smell hits our brain faster than taste. It takes approximately 25,000 times more molecules of a piece of mango barfi to taste it than to smell it.
Civet: Civet paste used in perfumery is obtained from the glands of civet cat, found in Africa, India, Malayasia and Indonesia.