Human sweat, body odor formation, and prevention
Perspiration, also known as sweat, is the production of fluids secreted by sweat glands. In humans, two types of sweat glands can be found: eccrine glands and apocrine glands. Human perspiration has two essential functions: Eccrine sweat regulates our body temperature to remain around 37°C. Apocrine sweat, on the other hand, is the source of emotional sweating, serving as a medium for interpersonal communication.1
Regardless of its source: fresh sweat is odorless. Eccrine sweat does not contain any compounds that could cause body odor, as it is mainly composed of water, electrolytes, moisturizing factors, and free amino acids. Apocrine sweat, in contrast, contains complex
molecules like sebaceous or apocrine lipids, fatty acids, proteins, various glutamine- and cysteine conjugates, as well as pheromones.
