Holiday Ayo - Durian is a tropical fruit that can be found in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia. The fruit, which is nicknamed the 'King of Fruits', has a prickly skin and a distinctive smell. Do you know why the smell of durian is so strong?

As cited from Reader's Digest, a scientific study was conducted to break down the pungent smell of durian fruit. The researchers broke the smell down into 44 different scent-producing chemical compounds.

The researchers described each of the odor compounds they detected in durians. The list includes honey, fried onions, sulphur, caramel, soup seasoning, rotten eggs, rotten cabbage, skunk and fruit.

According to Modern Farmer, researchers at the Technical University of Munich, Germany released the results of their research related to the smell of durian fruit. This research found, it turns out that a rare amino acid called ethionine is the culprit of the problem.

The study, published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, found that when durian ripens, the ethionine content increases to the point where it can emit a quite pungent odor.

Researchers say knowing how much ethionine is in durian is important. Not only because it helps understand why durian stinks so much but because consuming this amino acid can pose a risk of health problems.

A previous study mentioned eating large amounts of durian can cause liver damage and cancer in rats. But scientists say more research needs to be done on this.

The researchers also said that health risks will only arise if you eat too much durian. A person weighing about 150 pounds or about 68 kilograms would have to eat more than 1,200 pounds of durian or 544 kilograms in a day to be comparable to the levels of poison given to animals in previous studies.