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Males secrete more 2-AP than females. "The fact the binturongs ' kibble, the one
that the compound was in every binturong we cooked item in their diet, but they
studied, and at relatively high concentrations, means didn 't detect any.
t it could be a signal that says, 'A binturong was here, ' A more likely explanation, the
and whether it was male or female," said first author
researchers say, is that 2-AP is
Lydia Greene, a graduate student at Duke University.
h The compound 2-AP normally forms in popcorn produced when binturong urine
comes in contact with bacteria
during the popping process, when heat kicks off and other microorganisms that
g reactions between sugars and amino acids in the live on the animal's skin or fur or
corn kernels. The cooking produces a variety of new in its gut.
i odor and flavor molecules in a chemical reaction B a c t e r i a m a k e s m e l l y
s called the Maillard reaction. The same compound is compounds as they break down
also responsible for the comforting aromas of
sweat in our armpits in much the
toasted bread and cooked rice. same way, Drea said.
n The question was: how do they do it? "If you were to The time-release action of the
make this compound, you would have to use microbes could help the
I temperatures above what most animals can achieve binturongs ' urine smell-o-grams
s physiologically," said Christine Drea, a professor of last long after the animals move
evolutionary anthropology at Duke who led the study.
on, an essential mode of
"How does this animal make a cooking smell, but
communication for solitary
s without cooking?" animals that rarely encounter
each other, the researchers say.
It could be that binturong pee smells funny because
e of something they eat. The team searched for 2-AP in

n THE SPOTLIGHT

i

s

u The characteristic aroma of pandan is caused by the

B aroma compound 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which may give
white bread, jasmine rice and basmati rice (as well as
bread flowers Vallarisglabra) their typical smell.The
a plant is rare in the wild but is widely cultivated. It is an
upright, green plant with fan-shaped sprays of long,
narrow, blade-like leaves and woody aerial roots. The
i plant is sterile, with flowers only growing very rarely,

d and is propagated by cuttings.

n Culinary use
In India and Sri Lanka it is called Rampé and in Bangladesh it is
I called pulao pata, along with the other variety of pandan there
(Pandanus fascicularis), and is used to enhance the flavour of
pulao, biryani and sweet coconut rice pudding, payesh if basmati 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline
rice is not used. It acts as a cheap substitute for basmati fragrance as one can use normal,
non-fragrant rice and with the help of pandan the dish tastes and smells like basmati is