Is Hydroxycitronellal natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: Fully synthetic. Produced by hydration of citronellal..

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Hydroxycitronellal

FLOWERS / floral · lily · green

Hydroxycitronellal

Category	FLOWERS
Subcategory	floral · lily · green
Origin
Volatility	Heart Note
Botanical	N/A — synthetic molecule
Appearance	Colorless to pale yellow clear oily liquid
Odor Strength	Medium
Producing Countries	N/A — synthesized industrially
Pyramid	Heart

Clean, sweet, lily-of-the-valley floral with melon freshness. Hydroxycitronellal (CAS 107-75-5) is the classic muguet molecule that made lily of the valley possible in perfumery.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Clean, sweet, watery-floral. The defining muguet molecule. Melon-cucumber freshness over clean sweet floral base. Purely clean and sweet. Like a single lily-of-the-valley stem on a cool spring morning.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Clean sweet-floral, melon freshness

After a few hours

Lily-of-the-valley sweetness, watery

After a few days

Soft sweet-floral trace, moderate persistence

The Full Story

Hydroxycitronellal (CAS 107-75-5) is the single most important molecule for reconstructing lily of the valley, a flower that produces no extractable oil. Clean, sweet, watery-floral, with melon-cucumber freshness.

Crucial to making muguet a viable perfumery note. Without it, lily of the valley could not exist in perfumery. IFRA has placed increasingly strict limits due to sensitization.

Also important in tilleul, lilac, and green-floral reconstructions.

Explore all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

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Related: Arum Lily · Biomuguet · Calla Lily · Crinum Lily · Daylily · Fire Lily · Florhydral · Lily

Did You Know?

Did you know?

Lily of the valley produces no extractable oil. Without hydroxycitronellal (synthesized 1908), a beloved spring flower scents would have been entirely absent from perfumery.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: Fully synthetic. Produced by hydration of citronellal.

Molecular Formula	C10H20O2
CAS Number	107-75-5
Botanical Name	N/A — synthetic molecule
IFRA Status	Restricted — IFRA limits concentration (sensitizer); EU Annex III requires label declaration above 0.001% in leave-on, 0.01% in rinse-off
Synonyms	2-HYDROXY-4-METHYL-6-HEPTENAL · HYDROXYCITRONELLAL · 3,7-DIMETHYL-2,6-OCTADIEN-1-OL
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	Medium
Lasting Power	218 hours at 100%
Appearance	Colorless to pale yellow clear oily liquid
Boiling Point	241.00 °C. @ 760.00 mm Hg
Flash Point	255.00 °F. TCC ( 123.89 °C. )
Specific Gravity	0.91700 to 0.92300 @ 25.00 °C.
Refractive Index	1.44700 to 1.45000 @ 20.00 °C.

In Perfumery

Heart note and muguet building block. CAS 107-75-5. Essential for lily-of-the-valley (no natural extract exists). Also important in linden and lilac accords. IFRA restricted. Being replaced by newer molecules.