Myrcene

Q: Is Myrcene natural or synthetic?

Extraction: Produced industrially by pyrolysis of beta-pinene at approximately 400°C. Beta-pinene is sourced from turpentine, a byproduct of pulp and paper manufacturing (global sulfate turpentine production: approximately 330,000 tonnes/year). Pyrolysis yields a crude product containing 75-77% myrcene on a molar basis, with limonene (9%) and 1,8-p-menthadiene (2%) as principal byproducts. Theoretical yield reaches 93.5%, though industrial yields are typically 75-85% due to side reactions. US production alone was reported at 4,500-22,700 tonnes per year (EPA Inventory Update Rule, 1986-2006). Also found naturally in lemongrass oil (up to 40%) and hop essential oil, but natural isolation is not commercially competitive with synthetic production. The conjugated diene structure makes myrcene oxidation-prone; commercial grades require stabilisation with BHT or tocopherols..

Q: What perfumes use Myrcene?

Industrial precursor and minor modifier. Myrcene's importance to perfumery is overwhelmingly chemical, not olfactory. It is the starting material for the synthesis of linalool (the most consumed fragrance molecule globally), geraniol, nerol, citronellol, citronellal, hydroxycitronellal, and L-menthol. Its derivative dihydromyrcenol (3,000-4,000 tonnes/year) is the backbone of every mass-market fresh-clean accord since the late 1980s. As an odorant in its own right, myrcene contributes to the herbal-resinous character of hop accords and bay leaf reconstructions but is rarely used as an isolate in fine fragrance. It functions as a terpenic modifier — providing green, peppery lift in the top note — but its low tenacity and instability in alkaline and heated media limit direct application. No known use in Premiere Peau compositions.

Semi-syntheticGREENS, HERBS & FOUGERESherbal · spicy · peppery

TopPyramid

—Strength

1hTenacity

3Origins

Specimen

Top

N/A — monoterpene (naturally in Humulus lupulus, Cannabis sativa, Myrcia spp.)

Definition

Peppery-green, resinous, with a metallic edge that recalls crushed hop cones and cracked bay leaves. More herbal than limonene, less clean than linalool. The smell itself matters less than what it becomes — myrcene is the industrial starting material for linalool, geraniol, citronellol, and menthol.

HERBAL SPICY WARM

beta-myrcene, myrcia

Instruments

Pyramid

TTop

HHeart

BBase

—Strength

—

odour strength

Tenacity on blotter

1hours

1 h6 h24 h3 d7 d400 h

Producing countries

China India USA

Scent

Green-peppery with a resinous, slightly metallic undertow. The opening is sharp and herbaceous — somewhere between crushed hop cones and fresh bay leaf torn in half. A faint balsamic sweetness sits underneath, but it is dry, not honeyed. The molecule smells nothing like its famous children: linalool's floral transparency, geraniol's rose sweetness, and menthol's ice are all absent. What remains is the raw terpene backbone — austere, vegetal, fast to volatilise.

The Full Story

CAS 123-35-3. Beta-myrcene is an acyclic monoterpene (C₁₀H₁₆, MW 136.24) and a consequential molecule in the fragrance supply chain. Its own scent — peppery, herbaceous, slightly balsamic with a cannabis-hops character — is secondary to its role as the universal precursor. From myrcene, the industry synthesises linalool (via hydrochlorination and hydrolysis), geraniol, nerol, citronellol, citronellal, and L-menthol. Without this single molecule, half the perfumer's palette would cost ten times more.

The olfactory character is particular but rarely showcased in isolation. ScenTree describes a singular caper-like quality that separates it from other terpenes. It is drier and more herbaceous than alpha-pinene, less citrusy than limonene, and lacks the floral lift of its own derivative linalool. The molecule is highly volatile (BP 166-168°C, substantivity under one hour neat) and unstable in alkaline media — it cannot survive in soap bases or candle formulations.

Myrcene's most commercially significant derivative is dihydromyrcenol (CAS 18479-58-8), produced by acid-catalysed hydration. The fragrance industry consumes an estimated 3,000-4,000 tonnes of dihydromyrcenol per year — more than any other single aroma chemical — largely for its clean, citrus-metallic freshness in functional and fine fragrances. Myrcene is also the diene in the Diels-Alder synthesis of several cyclohexene-derived captives.

Naturally present in hops (Humulus lupulus), where it is the dominant monoterpene, in lemongrass oil (up to 40%), cannabis (29-66% of terpene fraction depending on strain), bay laurel, cardamom, and mango. The name derives from Myrcia, a genus of Brazilian shrubs in the Myrtaceae family.

Explore all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

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Related: Alpha Pinene · Angelica · Angelica Root · Angelica Root Oil · Artemisia · Barrenwort · Beachheather · Behini Tree

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method

Produced industrially by pyrolysis of beta-pinene at approximately 400°C. Beta-pinene is sourced from turpentine, a byproduct of pulp and paper manufacturing (global sulfate turpentine production: approximately 330,000 tonnes/year). Pyrolysis yields a crude product containing 75-77% myrcene on a molar basis, with limonene (9%) and 1,8-p-menthadiene (2%) as principal byproducts. Theoretical yield reaches 93.5%, though industrial yields are typically 75-85% due to side reactions. US production alone was reported at 4,500-22,700 tonnes per year (EPA Inventory Update Rule, 1986-2006). Also found naturally in lemongrass oil (up to 40%) and hop essential oil, but natural isolation is not commercially competitive with synthetic production. The conjugated diene structure makes myrcene oxidation-prone; commercial grades require stabilisation with BHT or tocopherols.

Formula: C10H16
CAS: 123-35-3
Botanical: N/A — monoterpene (naturally in Humulus lupulus, Cannabis sativa, Myrcia spp.)
Appearance: Colorless clear liquid with a pleasant herbaceous-woody balsamic odor
Lasting power: < 1 hour (neat)
Synonyms: beta-myrcene, myrcia

IFRA status

See note

Not subject to an IFRA Standard (51st Amendment)

Physical properties

Boiling point: 166.00 to 167.00 °C. @ 760.00 mm Hg
Melting point: -10.00 °C. @ 760.00 mm Hg
Flash point: 103.00 °F. TCC ( 39.44 °C. )
Specific gravity: 0.79100 to 0.79500 @ 25.00 °C.
Refractive index: 1.46600 to 1.47100 @ 20.00 °C.

In Perfumery

Industrial precursor and minor modifier. Myrcene's importance to perfumery is overwhelmingly chemical, not olfactory. It is the starting material for the synthesis of linalool (the most consumed fragrance molecule globally), geraniol, nerol, citronellol, citronellal, hydroxycitronellal, and L-menthol. Its derivative dihydromyrcenol (3,000-4,000 tonnes/year) is the backbone of every mass-market fresh-clean accord since the late 1980s. As an odorant in its own right, myrcene contributes to the herbal-resinous character of hop accords and bay leaf reconstructions but is rarely used as an isolate in fine fragrance. It functions as a terpenic modifier — providing green, peppery lift in the top note — but its low tenacity and instability in alkaline and heated media limit direct application. No known use in Premiere Peau compositions.

Role in the formula

01modifier

02blender

Available as

essential oil synthetic

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