• Media type: E-Article
  • Title: Sniffin’ Sticks and Olfactometer-Based Odor Thresholds for n-Butanol: Correspondence and Validity for Indoor Air Scenarios
  • Contributor: Pacharra, Marlene; Kleinbeck, Stefan; Schäper, Michael; Hucke, Christine I.; van Thriel, Christoph
  • Published: MDPI AG, 2020
  • Published in: Atmosphere, 11 (2020) 5, Seite 472
  • Language: English
  • DOI: 10.3390/atmos11050472
  • ISSN: 2073-4433
  • Origination:
  • Footnote:
  • Description: Threshold assessments for the reference odorant n-butanol are an integral part of various research, clinical, and environmental sensory testing procedures. However, the practical significance of a high or low threshold for n-butanol beyond a particular testing environment and procedure are often unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to determine between-method correlations and to investigate the association between the n-butanol threshold and perceptual/behavioral odor effects in natural breathing scenarios in 35 healthy adults. The thresholds for n-butanol derived from the Sniffin’ Sticks test and determined by the ascending limit dynamic dilution olfactometry procedure were significantly correlated (∣r∣ = 0.47). However, only the thresholds determined by olfactometry were significantly correlated to the odor detection of n-butanol in an exposure lab. Moreover, participants with a higher sensitivity for n-butanol in the olfactometer-based assessment rated ammonia, during a 75 min exposure, to be more unpleasant and showed better performance in a simultaneous 3-back task than participants with lower sensitivity. The results of this study suggest that beyond the strict parameters of a certain psychophysical procedure, the threshold for n-butanol can be a meaningful indicator of odor detection and effects in some cases.
  • Access State: Open Access