Human olfactory responses to 5α‐androst‐16‐EN‐3‐one— principal component of boar taint

Abstract

Analysis of the olfactory responses of men and women to a pure sample of 5α‐androst‐16‐en‐3‐one showed that 7·6% of women were unable to detect the odour compared with 44·3% of men. For subjects able to detect the odour, there was a highly significant difference between sexes in the hedonic scores, but not in the individual threshold values. Women found the odour significantly more unpleasant than did men, and the relevance of this result to the meat industry is discussed.