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Why does chopping an onion make you cry?

Unstable chemicals.
Onions produce the chemical irritant known as syn-propanethial-
S-oxide. It stimulates the eyes' lachrymal glands so they release "Share The Meat" recipes. Ann Rosener,
tears. Scientists used to blame the enzyme allinase for the photographer, 1942. Prints & Photographs
instability of substances in a cut onion. Recent studies from Division, Library of Congress.
Japan, however, proved that lachrymatory-factor synthase, (a
previously undiscovered enzyme) is the culprit (Imani et al,
2002).

The process goes as follows:

1. Lachrymatory-factor synthase is released into the air when

we cut an onion.
2. The synthase enzyme converts the amino acids sulfoxides
of the onion into sulfenic acid.
3. The unstable sulfenic acid rearranges itself into syn-
ropanethial-S-oxide.
4. Syn-propanethial-S-oxide gets into the air and comes in Onions in sacks are drying. Those on ground
contact with our eyes. The lachrymal glands become are culls. Dorothea Lange, photographer, 1939.
Prints & Photographs Division, Library of
irritated and produces the tears!
Congress.

Related Web Sites

Cooking Onions Without Crying - From the University of

Nebraska-Lincoln Extension.
National Onion Association - This website provides onion
information & tips, recipes, growing areas, and industry.
"The National Onion Association encourages the United
States onion industry to voluntarily exercise all reasonable
efforts to supply consumers with the highest quality, most
nutritious, and safest onions available; and furthermore,
to grant appropriate consideration and respect to the
issues of food security, sound pesticide management, and
environmental stewardship."
NPR Story: Exploring the Stinky Science of Alliums - July
2, 2010 interview with Eric Block author (and chemist) of
Garlic and Other Alliums: The Lore and the Science
(2010).
Onions - This site from Texas A&M University provides
all types of information about onions such as planting tips, Mexican onion-picker in onion field near Tracy,
California. Dorothea Lange, photographer,
the varieties, the history and laws, and onion recipes. [1935]. Prints & Photographs Division, Library
Why Do Onions Make You Cry? - From PennState of Congress.
Extension.

Further Reading

Dille, Carolyn, and Susan Belsinger. The onion book: a

bounty of culture, cultivation, and cuisine. Loveland, CO,
Interweave Press, c1996. 96 p.
Block, Eric. The chemistry of garlic and onion. Scientific
American, v. 252, Mar. 1985: 114-119.
Frey, William H. Crying: the mystery of tears. Minneapolis,
Winston Press, c1985. 175 p.
Imani, S., et al. Plant biochemistry: an onion enzyme that
makes the eyes water. Nature, v. 419, Oct. 17, 2002: 685.
Parsons, Russ. How to read a french fry and other
intriguing kitchen science. Boston, Houghton Mifflin,
c2001. p. 1-3.
Rogers, Mara Reid. Onions: a celebration of the onion
through recipes, lore, and history. Reading, MA, Addison-
Wesley Pub., c1995. 193 p.

For more print resources...

Search on "onion," "lachrymal gland" and "crying" or
"tears" in the Library of Congress Online Catalog.

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September 28, 2018