Mood-enhancing fragrance compound gains patent protection

US company Human Pheremone Sciences has filed a US patent for a compound derived from sea coral that can be added to fragrances and cosmetics as a mood-enhancer.

The company says that clinical trials have proven that the compound has ‘significant emotional impacts on both men and women, enhancing feelings of positive social relationships, personal well-being and social attraction.

The compound has provisionally been labeled as ER 303, and will target a cross-section of personal care players, as well as a number of categories in the environmental and household segments.

Only a small quanitity required

“Just inhaling very small quantities resulted in enhanced feelings of confidence, relaxation, affection, warmth, satisfaction and sensuality, in both men and women,” a spokesman for the company said.

The company has turned to biotechnology to replicate the coral compound, which could only be found in reefs off the coast of New Foundland and waters off Brazil’s Guiabinha Island.

The application for the patent is the result of eight years of research and development and clinical trials, since the compound was originally identified as having the potential to bring mood-enhancing properties to scented and fragranced products.

The result of extensive studies

This has meant countless psychological and physiological tests carried out on both men and women, as well as the painstaking process of developing a viable manufacturing process for the compound.

Full details about the development of the compound and its properties have been compiled on a dedicated website, http://www.ER303.com, which will shortly be updated with additional information.

Human Pheremone Sciences has already been granted a US patent for its mood-enhancing compound Androstaienone, which has been licensed to a number of leading personal care players, including Avon and Johnson & Johnson in the US as well as Henkel and Schwarkopf in Europe.

Repositioning of existing brand

Last year the California-based company repositioned its Natural Attraction brand, based on human pheromone.  

To do this, it enlisted Brand Intelligence Group (BIG) to develop a comprehensive programme that will see the brand repackaged and repositioned in an attempt to capitalise on what the company terms 'the potential strength of the trademark and its underlying technology'.

The company already has established dedicated laboratories at the University of Utah, staffed by its own scientists who have been involved in the research of mood enhancing compounds for many years, and have published their results in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

The low-down on pheremone

Pheremones are a chemical secreted by Humans that influence the behavior or development of others of the same species, often functioning as an attractant of the opposite sex.

Pheromone has been added to fragrances for the best part of 20 years now, but ensuring that the substance remains effective once combined with a fragrance has remained a problem for many manufacturers because it is difficult to formulate with.