Description
The sense of smell is a super or mystic sense in terms of its evoking of memories and emotions, but also an undervalued one. A European scientist long involved in natural-scent research introduces the biological meaning of natural scents, related historical facts, and traditional and computer-aided study methods. Via color images from many parts of the globe, personal and ancient homages to flowers, and chemical structure diagrams, Kaiser evokes the awe-inspiring, practical, and scientific aspects of odoriferous natural substances. Some 50 pages of summary tables present analytical results for many of the scents discussed. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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In recent years, our knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of olfaction has grown enormously, accompanied by a growing appreciation of scent. This is reflected in the fact that the 2004 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded for discoveries of 'Odorant Receptors and the Organization of the Olfactory System'. This book naturally supports such developments, and takes the reader on a fascinating fragrant journey around the world to some of the exciting places the author has visited during his 30 years of olfactory research. Following an introductory section to the world of natural scents, including their biological meaning and history, the fragrance and flavor chemist, Roman Kaiser, who is renowned for his 'headspace' analytical technique, revisits some memorable scents. In doing so, he leads us to such exotic places as Lower Amazonia, Papua New Guinea, India, and many rain-forest biotopes in his quest for new molecules and new scent concepts, showing us along the way how a scent like tatami can be linked to culture. The third and final section describes the analysis of the compositions of the presented scents.
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