Identification of the Most Common Odours Recognizable in the South Indian Community

The testing of the olfactory sense has gained importance after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Internationally used kits such as the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) is not appropriate for all populations. From an Indian perspective, there is need for a simple, easily available, kit that can test the sense of smell in local populations; in the present case, the south Indian. With this aim, the objective of this study was to create a set of the most commonly recognized odorants in the accessible population of a cross-section of the community in Kochi, a metropolitan city in Kerala, south India. An initial list was created with the help of responses to a questionnaire disseminated amongst a random cross-section of people domiciled in south India. The result was a set of nearly 600 substances, from which the top 16 were selected, for a pilot. This was done to calculate sample size and assess the feasibility of the study in the community. Both the studies were published in the Kerala Sate ENT journal. 500 persons with no self-reported smell disorders were tested. Coffee, Camphor, Clove, Garlic, and Naphthalene were the top five odorants identified by the subjects. Some of these are peculiar to the place, in terms of familiarity and availability. This study highlights the difference in recognizability of odorants in a specific place. We hope to utilize the results for the creation of an actual olfactory kit for use by the medical community.