Green Notes

The fragrance wheel lists Green as a subfamily of the Fresh family, with galbanum and green notes as examples. Green leaf volatiles are named after their typical odor of freshly cut green leaves.

Green leaf volatiles are organic compounds released by plants. They include C6 aldehydes such as (Z)-3-hexenal and n-hexanal, and derivatives such as (Z)-3-hexenol and (Z)-3-hexen-1-yl acetate. The smell of freshly cut grass is mainly caused by the emission of these compounds. Most healthy plant species do not release them, but large amounts are emitted when plants are wounded. Their synthesis starts within seconds of tissue damage. They also have antimicrobial properties that can prevent infection at the site of injury. In plants, cis-3-hexenal forms from linolenic acid via a hydroperoxide, through the action of a lipoxygenase followed by a hydroperoxide lyase.

cis-3-Hexenol, also known as leaf alcohol, has the CAS number 928-96-1. Most plants produce it in small amounts. The global production volume of cis-3-hexenol is about 3000 tonnes. cis-3-Hexenal, also known as leaf aldehyde, is an unsaturated aldehyde with the formula CH₃CH₂CH=CHCH₂CHO. It is one of the major volatile compounds in ripe tomatoes. It is relatively unstable and isomerizes into the conjugated trans-2-hexenal.

Galbanum is an aromatic gum resin from certain Persian plant species of the genus Ferula, chiefly Ferula gummosa and Ferula rubricaulis. Galbanum-yielding plants grow plentifully on the slopes of the mountain ranges of northern Iran. Galbanum contains about 8% terpenes, about 65% of a resin which contains sulfur, about 20% gum and a very small quantity of umbelliferone. It also contains α-pinene, β-pinene, limonene, cadinene, 3-carene and ocimene. Galbanum is frequently adulterated with pine oil.

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