The Reader’s Digest May 2010 issue featured a snippet on Subha Patel, of International Flavors & Fragrances, and her research on the aromatic subtle differences of rose essence.  Launching the flower in space, in the low-gravity of the NASA shuttle, she found the scent to be “less green”.   She also states that in her research on the aroma of roses, that cutting the bud of a rose alters its scent the moment it is cut.   “If everything had odor at the same time, it would be chaos out there,” says Patel, discussing how plants have softer and stronger scents at different times of the day.

Reader’s Digest, May 2010, page 123:

As Essence
A chemist at International Flavors & Fragrances, Subha Patel catches, catalogs, and re-creates enticing aromas that will eventually be sold to top perfume companies.  As part of her research, she launched a rose into space to test how a bloom’s environment affects its bouquet.  Her finding: The flower smelled “less green” as it orbited in low gravity aboard a NASA shuttle.  Among her more earthly discoveries: Cutting a bud instantly alters its aroma.  Because different botanical essences have stronger or lighter scents at different times of the day, Patel works around the clock capturing condensation from the flowers’ essential oils.  That natural variation, she says, is a good thing: “If everything has odor at the same time, it would be chaos out there.”

Learn more about Subha Patel, the International Flavors & Fragrances, or the Readers Digest.