Botanical cologne a bottler

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Tags: centenary-edition, commercialisation, discovery, environment

Ever wanted to bottle the fresh “green” aroma of a forest? UQ researcher Dr Nick Lavidis has done just that, launching a new “eau de grass” spray.

PhD student Jereme Spiers with a bottle of Serenascent

Serenascent, which smells like cut grass and claims to make the wearer happier and less stressed, was launched by the State Treasurer and Minister for Employment and Economic Development, Andrew Fraser.

Mr Fraser congratulated researchers Dr Lavidis and retired pharmacologist Associate Professor Rosemarie Einstein for their seven-year research project.

Dr Lavidis said he first had the idea for Serenascent on a trip to Yosemite National Park in America more than 20 years ago.

“Three days in the park felt like a three-month holiday,” he said.

“I didn’t realise at the time that it was the actual combination of feel-good chemicals released by the pine trees, the lush vegetation and the cut grass that made me feel so relaxed.

“Years later my neighbour commented on the wonderful smell of cut grass after I had mowed the lawn and it all clicked into place.”

Dr Lavidis said the aroma of Serenascent worked directly on the brain, in particular the emotional and memory parts known as the amygdala and the hippocampus.

“These two areas form the limbic system that controls the sympathetic nervous system,” he said.

“They are responsible for the ‘flight or fight’ response and the endocrine system, which controls the releasing of stress hormones like corticosteroids. The new spray appears to regulate these areas.”

By Jan King

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