Earwax analysis indicates ethnicity

A group of scientists have discovered that analysis of earwax can determine ethnic origin.

Researchers from the Monell Center (PA, USA) have recently reported that quantities of odor-producing chemical compounds in earwax differ with ethnic origin.

The team, led by Katharine Prokop-Prigge, analyzed odor-producing chemical compounds in the earwax of 16 healthy males, including eight Caucasians and eight East Asians. The samples were gently heated to release the volatile organic compounds, which were then tested by GC–MS. Using this technique, the study concluded that the same 12 volatile organic compounds were present in all samples tested; however, the quantities of the compounds varied between subjects from Caucasian and East Asian origin.

Prokop-Prigge commented, “In essence, we could obtain information about a person’s ethnicity simply by looking in his ears. While the types of odorants were similar, the amounts were very different.”

In a previous study by the team, underarm odors were analyzed to provide information such as personal identity, gender, sexual orientation and health status. The team hope that similar information could be derived from earwax, as explained by George Preti, the senior researcher on the study, “Odors in earwax may be able to tell us what a person has eaten and where they have been.” Preti continued, “Earwax is a neglected body secretion whose potential as an information source has yet to be explored.”

Sources: Earwax: a new frontier of human odor information; Prokop-Priggea KA, Thaler E, Wysockia CJ, Preti G. Identification of volatile organic compounds in human cerumen. J Chromatogr B. DOI: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2014.01.043 (2014) (Epub ahead of print).