Why Do Animals Smell : How to Get Rid of Skunk Smell
steemiteducation·@pario·
0.000 HBDWhy Do Animals Smell : How to Get Rid of Skunk Smell
<center></center> ***The fragrances of animals, as well as the flavors of plants, serve not only for entertainment - marking their territory or attracting representatives of the opposite sex. Sometimes this is also protection. Not so often as in plants. Animals have legs to escape, and claws to give change, and some animals even think of firearms.*** But still, chemical protection happens. Speech, of course, is about skunks. One of the features of this animal is that in case of an attack, or simply a threat, special anal glands are shot at a distance of up to 3 meters by a smelly liquid. Substances from this liquid at high concentrations are lacrimators (act as tear gas), can cause nausea and dizziness. In very high concentrations (about 1%), inhalation leads to loss of consciousness, and theoretically can result in morgue. At low concentrations, these substances are relatively harmless to the body, but are extremely repulsive in smell. The problem is complicated by the fact that the threshold of perception (that, the concentration at which we distinctly smell the substance) is 10 parts per billion. Let me remind you that the perception threshold for skatole (known for its unpleasant smell) is 15 times higher. That is, the skunk is 15 times more stinky than the skatole. The chemical composition of this smell, of course, is not a secret. The first attempts to decipher the protection of the skunk at the molecular level were made back in 1862. In 1886 Aldrich published a paper in which butyl mercaptan was named the main component of the scent smell.  *(butyl mercaptan)* This formula was well supported by available at that time methods of analysis, and this conclusion for a long time determined the attitude to the smell of the skunk. About 80 years. In 1975, it was discovered that he was mistaken. No butyl mercaptan in the secretions of the skunk was found. However, Aldrich made a mistake not so much - the whole problem was that he just did not notice the double bond, so he did not see the truth. But the truth is as follows.  If you look closely at the formula, you can see that Aldrich was very close to the correct answer. Structurally, the substance is very similar to butyl mercaptan. Of course, whether at that time NMR or chromass, the error would not have happened, but on elemental analysis you will not go far. I will not further complicate the narrative with formulas and tables, since in general, it is this structure that gives a unique smell to the animal. Although, this is not the only substance in the scent of the skunk, and in different types of skunk, the content of this substance is different. ### How to get rid of the smell In general, the probability of being spattered with a skunk is not small in Eurasia, because traditionally skunks do not live here. But if you are in the US, then another thing. Well, or just drunk, made their way to the zoo, climbed into the enclosure to the animal and, in the order of the experiment, still received a portion of fragrant substances in response to your clothes. ### What to do? **Method 1. Traditional** Traditionally, it is believed that the smell can be removed with the help of tomato juice. This method, of course, works, but not as we would like. Probably everyone noticed for himself, as getting into a noisy room, we, after a while, cease to notice this noise. Getting into a room that smells like paint, we stop noticing this smell after a while. The same happens with the skunk. Having smeared a stinky thing with tomato juice, we cease to smell the skunk, exuded by the thing, but clearly feel the smell of tomato juice, which has not yet been accustomed to. It seems to us that we have achieved our goal. Technically, it turns out, got rid of the smell. The truth is not to wear this thing and go to a business meeting or a party - unprepared people may not understand. **Method 2. Chemical.** Optimal, wash the thing with hydrogen peroxide or bleach. Because:  *The sulfonic acid formed in the reaction* - practically does not smell, - It is soluble in water and rinsed during rinsing. ### Who is this namyukal? <center> *Everything is very simple. The smell of cat urine, the one that is eaten tightly, and which can not be etched away - it is the smell of 3-mercapto-3-methylbutanol.*</center> Returning to the recent topic of getting rid of the smell of a skunk, one would assume that oxidizers, such as peroxide or bleach could rid themselves of the odor of cats by a similar mechanism. In the end, both are mercaptans, what's the difference what to oxidize. And the difference, meanwhile. there is. Because cats are a little trickier than skunks. To be more precise, they pursue other goals. If the skunk is important to scare off the attacker, and further the fate of his smell is not interested, then IMB in cats plays a slightly different role. This means to mark the territory. So the cat is very much interested in the fate of the stinky substance, it is important that this substance smells long and smoothly, does not evaporate and oxidizes. Evolution has found its solution to this issue. The fact is that in the urine of a cat there is no IMB. But there is felinin: Which is formed in the blood of a cat from another substance under the action of a kauxin enzyme. Felinin, which is characteristic, does not smell. But going out and cats and getting into the environment (behind the plinth, or on the carpet, or in the sneakers, or on the backpack), the felinin turns ... turns felinin into ... right, IMB. We need a cat, and we do not need it.  Felinin decomposes slowly. That's why no airing from the smell of a cat will save you. Airing, we can remove all available IMB, but after a short time a new one is formed. If we oxidize MMB with peroxide, then, of course, it will oxidize. But it will not save much, because after a while it will appear again. ### What to do? Obviously, we need to get rid of felinin, and not from the product of its decay - IMB. Knowing the mechanism of the formation of this substance in the animal's body, it is possible to prick the cat with an inhibitor of the kauxin enzyme, which leads to the formation of felinin (see picture above). Although it will be more reliable and humane to bring out the genetically modified cat, which will not produce kauxin. So there will be no felinin, no IMB. Until then, it will be necessary to somehow live with this and train cats to use the toilet, as a filler which uses special sorbents that effectively absorb IMB. ### Addition: <center></center> I was once asked why the smell of currants is very similar to the smell of cats. There is nothing strange about this. This is not at all because wild cats go to currant bushes. Just the very IMB, which smells cat's urine, is really contained in the currant, and even in passion fruit and even in some varieties of wine. The substance does not determine the smell of these products, it is not the key, but a certain note introduces. And even more. This substance in its pure form is often used to create flavors. Currants, passion fruit, all sorts of tropical fruits, as well as coffee, meat, etc. The perceptual threshold (simply - stinkiness) for IMB is estimated at 2-6 parts per billion, which is several times stronger than the skunk . In general, it is necessary to work with it very carefully. Not really, you know, you want to smell yourself know what. *** *** *References for Text and Images:* 1. http://allstateanimalcontrol.com/animals/skunks/skunk_smell.php 2. http://www.wisegeek.org/why-do-skunks-smell-so-bad.htm 3. http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20151019-how-do-we-know-what-animals-can-see-hear-and-smell 4. https://animals.howstuffworks.com/animal-facts/animals-communicate.htm 5. https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2013/09/19/5-animals-with-stinky-defenses/ *** <center> *steemSTEM Want to discover more science and technology related content on Steemit? Follow @steemSTEM to see a weekly selection of quality science posts, as well as STEM-related contests. Are you interested in writing posts on related topics yourself? Make sure to join the steemSTEM channel on steemit.chat to engage with other scientists on steemit!* </center> https://steemitimages.com/DQmdEhYBwAGZDsmgdeDywfrba4DRJvaPFToR4HvSKjY8rim/SteemSTEM%20Logo.gif