Back in late winter/early spring i bought some lack currant stems to propagate them.With cost of plants so high this was much cheaper route to go so i got started on it and they been growing.Once leaves started out i noticed watering them i get a hint of cat urine smell. I thought it was a feral cat spraying my planter.So i done some digging and look what i found out....
https://www.compoundchem.com/2015/07/23/blackcurrants/#:~:text=That’s right, it’s sulfur-containing compounds. In the case,impact on the overall aroma of the blackcurrants.
Now, all of that chemistry is interesting enough, but it pales into insignificance when it comes to our main feature – the link between blackcurrants and cat urine. I don’t make this connection myself, but apparently to some people, cat pee and blackcurrants is a readily made association. As it turns out, it isn’t just one of those weird ones, and there actually is a chemical explanation.
Again, regular readers will probably know what’s coming here. Something smells bad/unusual? That’s right, it’s sulfur-containing compounds. In the case of the blackcurrant, it’s thiol containing compounds (those containing a –SH group) that produce the odd likeness to cat urine. Despite being present in pretty low concentrations, their odour thresholds are low enough for them to have an impact on the overall aroma of the blackcurrants.
p-mentha-8-thiol-3-one and 4-methoxy-2-methyl-2-butanethiol are two key thiol compounds in blackcurrant that contribute to their aroma. However, the one we’re particularly interested in is 4-thio-4-methylpentan-2-one. This one has a slightly more user-friendly name: “cat ketone”. You’ve probably made the connection already, but yes, cat ketone, as well as being found in blackcurrants, is also found in cat urine. As it turns out, the smell of these thiol compounds is rather dependent on their concentrations; at low levels, they have a pleasant blackcurrant odour, but this becomes distinctly more feline at higher concentrations.
So, whilst this doesn’t really explain why some people pick up on this and others don’t, if you are one of those people who find blackcurrants smell a bit catty, at least you can rest easy knowing there’s a chemical explanation. Or feel uncomfortable knowing that it actually is a chemical also found in cat urine that’s causing you to experience that smell. Whichever.
https://www.compoundchem.com/2015/07/23/blackcurrants/#:~:text=That’s right, it’s sulfur-containing compounds. In the case,impact on the overall aroma of the blackcurrants.
Now, all of that chemistry is interesting enough, but it pales into insignificance when it comes to our main feature – the link between blackcurrants and cat urine. I don’t make this connection myself, but apparently to some people, cat pee and blackcurrants is a readily made association. As it turns out, it isn’t just one of those weird ones, and there actually is a chemical explanation.
Again, regular readers will probably know what’s coming here. Something smells bad/unusual? That’s right, it’s sulfur-containing compounds. In the case of the blackcurrant, it’s thiol containing compounds (those containing a –SH group) that produce the odd likeness to cat urine. Despite being present in pretty low concentrations, their odour thresholds are low enough for them to have an impact on the overall aroma of the blackcurrants.
p-mentha-8-thiol-3-one and 4-methoxy-2-methyl-2-butanethiol are two key thiol compounds in blackcurrant that contribute to their aroma. However, the one we’re particularly interested in is 4-thio-4-methylpentan-2-one. This one has a slightly more user-friendly name: “cat ketone”. You’ve probably made the connection already, but yes, cat ketone, as well as being found in blackcurrants, is also found in cat urine. As it turns out, the smell of these thiol compounds is rather dependent on their concentrations; at low levels, they have a pleasant blackcurrant odour, but this becomes distinctly more feline at higher concentrations.
So, whilst this doesn’t really explain why some people pick up on this and others don’t, if you are one of those people who find blackcurrants smell a bit catty, at least you can rest easy knowing there’s a chemical explanation. Or feel uncomfortable knowing that it actually is a chemical also found in cat urine that’s causing you to experience that smell. Whichever.
