Showing posts with label ammonia-like odor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ammonia-like odor. Show all posts

Monday, December 5, 2011

The Road to Ammonia

Why do I smell like Ammonia? This question, in thousands of variations, has been asked over and over again at every major question/answer site, especially teen, bodybuilding and athletic forums.

The Internet provides plenty of opinions.

Medical sites talk about diseases like chronic kidney failure, hepatic cirrhosis or H. pylori infection. Fitness sites recommend drinking more water, reevaluating protein sources and eating more carbohydrates.
What are these diet-odor links? And what's the Science? Ammonia may be formed during the alkaline hydrolysis and deamidation of proteins - by our own metabolism and the metabolism of microbes that call us home. If our kidneys can't handle the load of nitrogen, it's excreted as ammonia in sweat. Excretion increases 10 times as temperature goes from 70 to 100 Fahrenheit.

Aurametrix is a breakthrough analysis tool that correlates users' actions and reactions based on what information they enter into the system. Preliminary correlations in the Aurametrix knowledge base show exactly what's expected: excess protein does lead to ammonia-like odor.

But wait a minute - does it say the same about excess fat?

An  example provided by one of our users is very interesting. The user logged a few foods he thought were contributing to odor. These were different odors according to the user - ranging from "Ammonia-like" to "Fishy", sharp, cloying and stale. Aurametrix, however, recognized that all these odors described by the user may be related to nitrogen-containing compounds.  When these three data points were analyzed along with four foods that the user did not associate with any odors, Aurametrix displayed only one result:

Based on your Aura entries, the following may be contributing to "Ammoniacal odor" in a 3 hour timeframe:

Hexadecanoic acid  - commonly known as Palmitic acid - is one of the most common saturated fatty acids in the Western diet. Palm oil and coconut oil contain especially high levels of this acid. What effect does this acid have on metabolism? It down-regulates glycose metabolism and protein metabolism, affecting Calcium or mRNA binding proteins [1]. So there may very well be a connection!

Want to connect the dots to your own health and wellbeing and see what you have in common with others?

Write to:


References

Hovsepyan, M., Sargsyan, E., & Bergsten, P. (2010). Palmitate-induced changes in protein expression of insulin secreting INS-1E cells Journal of Proteomics, 73 (6), 1148-1155 DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2010.01.012

Trabue S, Kerr B, Bearson B, Ziemer C. Swine odor analyzed by odor panels and chemical techniques. J Environ Qual. 2011 Sep-Oct;40(5):1510-20.

Ito, Shigeji; Kohli, Yoshihiro; Kato, Takuji; Abe, Yoshimichi; Ueda, Takashi
Significance of ammonia produced by Helicobacter pylori. European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology. 6(2):167-174, February 1994.

Qiu, Y.T., Smallegange, R.C., Van Loon, J.J.A., Takken, W. 2011 Behavioural responses of Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto to components of human breath, sweat and urine depend on mixture composition and concentration. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 25 (3), pp. 247-255

Enrique Wolpert, M.D., Sidney F. Phillips, M.D., and W. H. J. Summerskill, D.M. Ammonia Production in the Human Colon — Effects of Cleansing, Neomycin and Acetohydroxamic Acid N Engl J Med 1970; 283:159-164

V Bhatia, R Singh, S K Acharya Liver: Predictive value of arterial ammonia for complications and outcome in acute liver failure. Gut 2006;55:98-104 Published Online First: 15 July 2005 doi:10.1136/gut.2004.061754

Consolazio, C.F., Nelson, R.A., Matoush, L.O., Canham, J.E. Nitrogen excretion in sweat and its relation to nitrogen balance requirements. J Nutr. 1963 Apr; 79:399-406.

Ammonia in personal care products:
After Bite ointments
Hair dyes

Ammonia in household products:
Ammonia Removing Products
Glass Cleaners
Kitchen Cleaners

Friday, April 11, 2008

Chemical Composition of Odors

Adapted on 2/15/2026 from: https://www.meboblog.com/2008/04/chemical-composition-of-odors-chemical.html

Formatted, and expanded version of Maria de La Torre's post of Friday, April 11, 2008

See also old Aurametrix Notes about this. 


Chemical Composition of Odors

Sulfur compounds

ChemicalOdorOrigin / Source
Hydrogen sulfideRotten eggsSulfur metabolism; amino acids (e.g., methionine, cysteine)
Methyl mercaptan (methanethiol)Rotten cabbageSulfur-containing amino acids
Diethyl sulfideRotten vegetablesSulfur compounds from protein breakdown
MethionineRancid butterSulfur amino acid metabolism

Phenolic & aromatic compounds

ChemicalOdorOrigin / Source
PhenolMedicinal, sweetTyrosine metabolism
p-CresolFecalTryptophan, tyrosine degradation
PhenylalanineMusty / mousyAmino acid metabolism
2-AminoacetophenoneMusky, grape-likeMicrobial metabolism
Indole + other compounds“Wet dog” odorProtein decomposition

Nitrogenous amines

ChemicalOdorOrigin / Source
MethylamineFishy, pungentNitrogen metabolism
DimethylamineFishyProtein degradation
DiethylaminePungent, ammoniacalNitrogen compounds
TrimethylamineFishy, ammoniacalCholine metabolism
AmmoniaSharp, pungentProtein breakdown, urea metabolism
DimethylglycineFishyCholine metabolism
CadaverineRotting corpseLysine decomposition

Indoles & related compounds

ChemicalOdorOrigin / Source
IndoleFecal, mothball-likeTryptophan breakdown
SkatoleFecal, pungentTryptophan metabolism

Organic acids (short-chain & volatile)

ChemicalOdorOrigin / Source
Acetic acidVinegarFermentation; carbohydrate metabolism
Butanoic (butyric) acidRancid butter, sour meatFiber fermentation; amino acids
Caproic / capric acidSour, goat-likeShort-chain fatty acid metabolism
Isovaleric acidSweaty feetLeucine metabolism
Methylcrotonic acidCat urineOrganic acid metabolism
Branched-chain amino acidsMaple syrup-likeAmino acid disorders/metabolism

Ketones & aldehydes

ChemicalOdorOrigin / Source
AcetaldehydeFruity, pungentAlcohol metabolism; fermentation
AcetoneSweet, pungentFat metabolism; ketosis
2-NonanoneFruityLipid metabolism

Notes

  • Many odors originate from microbial metabolism of:

    • Amino acids

    • Lipids

    • Carbohydrates

  • Common biochemical sources of odor compounds

    • Protein decomposition → amines, indoles, sulfur gases

    • Fat breakdown → ketones, short-chain fatty acids

    • Fermentation → organic acids, aldehydes

  • Key amino acid–odor links

    • Tryptophan → indole, skatole

    • Tyrosine → phenol, cresols

    • Lysine → cadaverine

    • Leucine → isovaleric acid

    • Methionine/cysteine → sulfur odors


MAPPING OF ODORS

Described odorSimilar OdorWhy
Rotten eggsFecalSulfur compounds (e.g., hydrogen sulfide) are common in fecal odors
Rotten cabbageFecalSulfurous, putrefaction-type smell typical of fecal decomposition
Rotten vegetablesFecalPutrid, decomposition odor similar to fecal notes
Rancid butterFattyClassic oxidized-fat smell (butyric/related fatty acids)
“Wet dog”Foot odorMicrobial, sweaty, slightly sour—similar to foot-associated bacteria
MedicinalUnderarm odorSharp, chemical, phenolic notes often linked to apocrine sweat breakdown
Cat urineAmmonia-likeStrong ammonia/urea breakdown odor
FruityUnderarm odorSome underarm bacteria produce sweet/ester-like scents
PungentUnderarm odorSharp, acrid body-odor character typical of armpit sweat compounds
Maple syrupFattySweet, warm, lactone/organic-acid notes often grouped with fatty odors