Japanese cosmetics maker Shiseido Co. has found that human bodies will produce a distinctive odor that is similar to that of an onion or a green onion when they come under stress.

Shiseido said in early October it plans to use the discovery to develop new personal care products designed to eliminate odors, with the hope of commercializing them around the spring of 2019.

(Photo courtesy of Shiseido)

Before confirming the interesting finding, to reproduce the state of stress resulting from tense situations, Shiseido had conducted a 20-minute interview of a women with someone she has never met before.

The maker then collected gas samples from the skins of a total of 40 women who participated in the research and analyzed them. It later confirmed that the samples had a sulfur compound-like odor.

The "stress smell" stems from two compounds, allyl mercaptan and dimethyl trisulfide, according to Shiseido, which dubbed the combination ST Thiodimethane.

The Tokyo-based company has gained various know-how in developing deodorants and other anti-odor products. In 1999, it discovered a substance called "nonenal" that causes the odor of the middle-aged and elderly.

In Japan, some people are very sensitive about body odor. "Smell harassment" has recently joined a list of other office complaints such as "power harassment" and "sexual harassment" in the country.