A volatile compound
It may come from a plant, an animal, a microorganism, human cells, soil, an ocean or human activity. Being emitted does not automatically mean communicating.
Dossier 01 · What circulates
Volatiles and volatilomes.
An odour is a perception. A volatile compound is a substance that can pass easily into the air under certain conditions. A volatilome is the dynamic set of volatile compounds associated with an organism, a sample or an environment at a given moment.
An odour
It arises when a mixture meets our olfactory system and becomes a perception. Compounds can circulate without being consciously smelt.
A volatilome
It is a changing signature, influenced by the organism, its microbiomes, its diet, its state, its activities and its environment.
And essential oil?
An extracted fraction, not the whole volatilome.
An essential oil gathers and concentrates certain compounds from a plant organ through an extraction process. It is a remarkable sensory bridge to the volatile world, but it reproduces neither the whole living plant nor everything the plant emits into its environment.