| Translate This News In |
|---|
Even months after fully recovering from the disease, people who contracted coronavirus encountered several side effects. As the disease first attacked the olfactory receptors, one of the side effects was a loss of sense of smell. Parosmia is a condition in which familiar smells become contorted and disgusting, affecting diet and mental health. The researchers have now identified the cause of Parosmia, a post-infection characteristic that causes good aromas to smell like burning garbage or sewage.
Experts from the University of Reading’s School of Chemistry, Food, and Pharmacy and the University College London Hospital discovered 15 different molecular triggers of the symptom in a peer-reviewed study published in the journal Communications Medicine.
According to the study, the most frequently reported trigger was 2-furanmethanethiol, which has a powerful roast coffee aroma. While studying the effects of Covid, the researchers determined that individuals with normal senses of smell identified the molecule’s smell like coffee or popcorn, whereas those with parosmia explained it as disgusting, repulsive, or dirty.
“We used a technique that differentiates the ingredients that cause up the smell of instant coffee and had several people smell them one by one compared to the general population after infection.” “The majority of these people identified the same chemicals as reeking disgusting and triggering their Parosmia,” the researchers wrote in their study.
They also stated that prior to COVID-19, olfactory dysfunction went largely unnoticed and was frequently underestimated by medical professionals. “Since the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and the realization that 50-65 percent of cases result in anosmia1 (loss of sense of smell), there has been a greater awareness of the crippling effect of olfactory disorders,” according to the study.
According to the researchers, the study was conducted to gain insight into the mechanisms involved in Parosmia. Coffee was chosen because, like meat, onion, garlic, egg, mint, or toothpaste, it contains aroma compounds with some of the smallest odour thresholds known, which may be involved in triggering occurrences of Parosmia, according to the researchers.
The study will assist health professionals in providing scientific advice on dietary choices to people suffering from post-infectious olfactory disorder.
