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Many haematophagous ectoparasites use carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and host odour to detect and locate their hosts. The tick Ixodes ricinus (Linnaeus) (Ixodida: Ixodidae) walks only small distances and quests in vegetation until it encounters a host. The differential effects of CO 2 and host odour on the host-finding behaviour of I. ricinus have, however, never been clarified and hence represent the subject of this study. The effects of CO 2 and odour from bank voles on the activation and attraction of I. ricinus nymphs were analysed in a Y-tube olfactometer. Carbon dioxide evoked a response in the absence and presence of host odour, but did not attract nymphs. Host odour, however, did not evoke a response but did attract nymphs in the absence and presence of CO 2 . The current results show that CO 2 is an activator, but not an attractant, and that host odour is an attractant, but not an activator, of I. ricinus nymphs, and provide ecological insights into the host-finding behaviour of I. ricinus., (© 2016 The Royal Entomological Society.)

Our olfactory sense plays an important role in eating behavior by modulating our food preferences and intake. However, hunger or satiety may also influence how we perceive odors. Albeit speculative, contradictory results found in the past may have resulted from confounding by type of meal that participants ate to induce satiety. We aimed to investigate the influence of hunger state on olfactory sensitivity, comparing hunger to satiety using 2 different types of lunch to control for sensory-specific satiety. Odor detection thresholds were measured in 2 groups of participants (39 per group, 18-40 years), under 3 conditions: when hungry (twice), after a sweet lunch, and after a savory lunch. One group had their detection thresholds tested for a sweet odor, whereas in the other group, sensitivity to a savory odor was measured. Differences in olfactory sensitivity conditions were analyzed using linear mixed models. Participants had higher scores on the odor sensitivity task in a hungry versus satiated state (P = 0.001). Within the satiated condition, there was no effect of type of lunch on odor sensitivity. In conclusion, hunger slightly enhances sensitivity to food odors, but did not significantly depend on the type of food participants ate, suggesting no clear influence of sensory-specific satiety., (© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Exposure to food odours increases the appetite for congruent foods and decreases the appetite for incongruent foods. However, the effect of exposure to a variety of food odours, as often occurs in daily life, is unknown., Objective: Investigate how switching between sweet and savoury odours affects the appetite for sweet and savoury products., Design: Thirty women (age: 18-45y; BMI: 18.5-25kg/m2) intensely smelled the contents of cups filled with banana, meat or water (no-odour) in a within-subject design with four combinations: no-odour/banana, no-odour/meat, meat/banana and banana/meat. Participants received one combination per test day. In each combination, two cups with different fillings were smelled for five minutes after each other. Treatment order was balanced as much as possible. The effects of previous exposure and current odour on the appetite for (in)congruent sweet and savoury products, and odour pleasantness were analysed. A change from meat to banana odour or banana to meat odour was referred to as switch, whereas a change from no-odour to meat odour or no-odour to banana odour was no-switch., Results: The current odour (P<0.001), as opposed to the previous exposure (P = 0.71), determined the appetite for (in)congruent sweet and savoury products, already one minute after a switch between sweet and savoury odours. The pleasantness of the odour decreased during odour exposure (P = 0.005)., Conclusions: After a switch, the appetite for specific products quickly adjusted to the new odour and followed the typical pattern as found during odour exposure in previous studies. Interestingly, the appetite for the smelled food remained elevated during odour exposure, known as sensory-specific appetite, whereas the pleasantness of the odour decreased over time, previously termed olfactory sensory-specific satiety. This seeming contradiction may result from different mechanisms underlying the odour-induced anticipation of food intake versus the decrease in hedonic value during prolonged sensory stimulation.

Understanding overconsumption starts with knowledge of how separate factors influence our eating behavior. Food cues such as food odors are known for their effect on general appetite and sensory-specific appetite (SSA). Active sniffing rather than passive exposure may induce satiation over time. The objective of this study was to investigate how actively sniffing banana odors affects general appetite, SSA, and subsequent food intake. In a crossover study, 61 women actively smelled cups containing natural banana, artificial banana odor, or water (no odor) for 10 min. Treatment order was randomly assigned as much as possible. General appetite and SSA were monitored by using 100-mm visual analog scales during the 10 min of active sniffing, followed by ad libitum intake of banana milkshake. Results showed that SSA was consistently high (+12 mm) during actively sniffing natural or artificial banana odors, with no decrease in SSA over time. Sniffing both banana odors increased the appetite for banana (+11 mm) and other sweet products (+4 mm), whereas the appetite for savory products decreased by 7 mm (all P < 0.01) compared with no odor. Actively sniffing banana odor did not significantly influence food intake (P = 0.68) or general appetite scores (P = 0.06). In conclusion, SSA scores during active sniffing were identical to the SSA found in a similar study that used passive smelling, suggesting that SSA is independent of the manner of sniffing and exposure time. Moreover, sweet/savory categorization may suggest that food odors communicate information about the nutrient composition of their associated foods. These data clearly show the appetizing effects of food odors., (© 2014 American Society for Nutrition.)

The present study investigated the effect of aroma exposure time and aroma concentration on ad libitum intake and subjective satiation. In a within-subject study, thirty-eight unrestrained, healthy female participants (age: 18-39 years; BMI: 18·5-26·0 kg/m²) were asked to consume tomato soup during lunchtime, until they felt comfortably full. Every 30 s, the participants consumed 10 g of a bland soup base while tomato soup aroma was delivered separately through the nose via a retronasal tube that was attached to an olfactometer. This gave the impression of consuming real tomato soup. For each sip, the aroma varied in exposure time (3 and 18 s) and concentration (5 × ), resulting in four different test conditions. Ad libitum food intake and appetite profile parameters were measured. A 9% lower food intake was observed when the participants were exposed to the condition with 18 s exposure time and a high concentration than when exposed to the other three conditions. These results indicate that changing the retronasal aroma release by aroma concentration and aroma exposure time affects food intake.

We investigated whether volatiles produced by spider mite-damaged plants of four gerbera cultivars differ in attractiveness to Phytoseiulus persimilis, a specialist predator of spider mites, and how the mite-induced odor blends differ in chemical composition. The gerbera cultivars differed in resistance, as expressed in terms of spider mite intrinsic rate of population increase (rm). In order of increasing resistance these were Sirtaki, Rondena, Fame, and Bianca. To correct for differences in damage inflicted on the cultivars, we developed a method to compare the attractiveness of the blends, based on the assumption that a larger amount of spider mite damage leads to higher attraction of P persimilis. Spider mite-induced volatiles of cultivars Rondena and Bianca were preferred over those of cultivar Sirtaki. Spider mite-induced volatiles of cultivars Sirtaki and Fame did not differ in attractiveness to P. persimilis. Sirtaki plants had a lower relative production of terpenes than the other three cultivars. This was attributed to a low production of cis-alpha-bergamotene, trans-alpha-bergamotene, trans-beta-bergamotene, and (E)-beta-farnesene. The emission of (E)-beta-ocimene and linalool was lower in Sirtaki and Fame leaves than in Bianca and Rondena. The importance of these chemical differences in the differential attraction of predatory mites is discussed.