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Jasmine

Q: Is Jasmine natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: Solvent extraction exclusively — never steam-distilled, as heat destroys the ester-indole balance that defines jasmine. Hexane (historically petroleum ether) extracts a waxy concrete from fresh petals; the concrete is washed with ethanol to yield the absolute. Yield: approximately 0.15% — roughly 600–700 kg of hand-picked blossoms per 1 kg of absolute, or approximately 7 million individual flowers. Harvest occurs before dawn, during peak nocturnal volatile emission. Egypt (Gharbia governorate, Nile Delta) and India (Tamil Nadu, Madurai) dominate commercial supply of grandiflorum. Grasse production is now marginal — a few hectares remain, commanding prices several times higher than Egyptian material. CO2 extraction exists experimentally but has not displaced solvent extraction at commercial scale..

WHITE FLOWERS / floral · indolic · narcotic

Jasmine

Category	WHITE FLOWERS
Subcategory	floral · indolic · narcotic
Origin
Volatility	Heart Note
Botanical	Jasminum grandiflorum · Jasminum sambac
Appearance	reddish brown clear liquid
Odor Strength	Medium
Producing Countries	Egypt, France (Grasse), India, Morocco
Pyramid	Heart

White petals that smell faintly of sex and fruit salad. Jasmine is the most chemically complex flower absolute in perfumery — over 250 identified compounds — and the only major floral whose defining molecule, indole, is also found in feces. That tension between sweetness and animality is the entire point.

Scent
Terroir & Origins
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Immediately sweet, heavy, narcotic — a ripe, almost tropical fruitiness layered over dense white-petal lushness. Then indole: a warm, animalic undercurrent that smells faintly of mothballs and skin in summer. This is what separates jasmine from every other white flower. Lily of the valley is clean. Tuberose is buttery and lactonic. Jasmine is neither — it is overripe, carnal, slightly unsettling. The grandiflorum variety stays balanced, almost civilized. Sambac pushes further into narcotic grape-skin territory, closer to orange blossom in its green indolic weight.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Intensely sweet, fruity-green, radiating outward. Benzyl acetate and linalool dominate — bright, almost sparkling, with a lush white-petal transparency that fills a room.

After a few hours

The indolic facet surfaces. A warm, narcotic, faintly animalic depth replaces the initial radiance. The jasmine turns intimate, closer to skin — honeyed, slightly dirty, unmistakably carnal.

After a few days

A sweet, waxy, faintly animalic trace persists on fabric. Phytol and benzyl benzoate anchor a soft residue. The indolic whisper lingers longest — skin-warm, resinous, quietly persistent.

Terroir & Origins

Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.

The Full Story

Jasmine is the most chemically complex flower in perfumery — over 250 identified volatile compounds across the two principal commercial species, Jasminum grandiflorum (jasmine officinale, Grasse / Egyptian / Indian) and Jasminum sambac (Arabian jasmine, Indian / Chinese / Hawaiian sources).

Chemistry

The defining compounds are benzyl acetate (CAS 140-11-4) — the dominant ester, sweet-floral-fruity [A]; cis-jasmone (CAS 488-10-8, C₁₁H₁₆O), the eponymous cyclopentanone ketone with a fruity-celery edge; indole (CAS 120-72-9, C₈H₇N) at 1–6% supplying the animalic-fecal undertone [B]; methyl jasmonate and dihydrojasmone for the jasmone family deeper notes; phytol and benzyl alcohol for transparency. The two species differ in the indole/methyl anthranilate balance — sambac is fruitier, less indolic; grandiflorum is more animalic and tea-like.

Extraction

Solvent extraction (hexane → ethanol washing) yields the concrete (~0.3% by flower weight) and then the absolute (~50% conversion). The flowers are picked before dawn — Jasminum opens at night and the maximum aromatic emission is in the hours before sunrise. Industrial picking targets the 4–6 AM window. Enfleurage was the historical method, now obsolete commercially.

Sources & Notes

[A] PubChem CID 8794 — benzyl acetate, CAS 140-11-4. The dominant jasmine ester. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/8794.

[B] PubChem CID 798 — indole, CAS 120-72-9. The animalic-fecal undertone of jasmine and other white florals. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/798.

Did You Know?

Did you know?

The enzyme BEAT (benzyl alcohol acetyltransferase), which catalyzes the final step of benzyl acetate biosynthesis in jasmine petals, shows zero activity during daylight. Its expression is under strict circadian control — peaking between 8 PM and 2 AM — which is why jasmine flowers picked at noon are nearly scentless and commercially worthless. This is not metaphor. It is enzymatic fact, confirmed by Jasminum sambac transcriptome studies.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: Solvent extraction exclusively — never steam-distilled, as heat destroys the ester-indole balance that defines jasmine. Hexane (historically petroleum ether) extracts a waxy concrete from fresh petals; the concrete is washed with ethanol to yield the absolute. Yield: approximately 0.15% — roughly 600–700 kg of hand-picked blossoms per 1 kg of absolute, or approximately 7 million individual flowers. Harvest occurs before dawn, during peak nocturnal volatile emission. Egypt (Gharbia governorate, Nile Delta) and India (Tamil Nadu, Madurai) dominate commercial supply of grandiflorum. Grasse production is now marginal — a few hectares remain, commanding prices several times higher than Egyptian material. CO2 extraction exists experimentally but has not displaced solvent extraction at commercial scale.

↑ See Terroir & Origins for origin-specific methods.

Molecular Formula	C8H7N (Indole), C13H20O3 (Methyl jasmonate)
CAS Number	8022-96-6 (J. grandiflorum absolute) · 91770-14-8 (J. sambac absolute)
Botanical Name	Jasminum grandiflorum · Jasminum sambac
IFRA Status	Restricted (IFRA 49th Amendment, QRA-based). Jasmine grandiflorum absolute contains regulated allergens (benzyl alcohol, benzyl benzoate, linalool, eugenol, geraniol) that impose maximum concentration limits by product category — approximately 0.7% in leave-on applications. Sambac absolute is similarly restricted under IFRA Standard 050.
Synonyms	JASMIN · JASMIN DE GRASSE · SAMBAC · ARABIAN JASMINE · JASMIN ABSOLUTE
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	Medium
Lasting Power	312 hours at 100.00%
Appearance	reddish brown clear liquid
Flash Point	200.00 °F. TCC ( 93.33 °C. )
Specific Gravity	0.91000 to 0.98000 @ 25.00 °C.
Refractive Index	1.47800 to 1.49200 @ 20.00 °C.
Melting Point	48.00 to 51.00 °C. @ 760.00 mm Hg

In Perfumery

Jasmine functions simultaneously as a diffusi on engine, an animalic modifier, and a blending agent. Its volatile esters project powerfully in the first hours. Its indolic quality supports otherwise flat florals. Its broad molecular spectrum bridges disparate materials — citrus, woods, musks — into coherent compositions. It is structurally essential to floral hearts, chypres, and ambers. In soliflores, it carries the entire architecture. In more complex constructions, it occupies the heart and radiates into both top and base. Hedione (methyl dihydrojasmonate) is the most common synthetic in contemporary use. It provides jasmine's transparent radiance without the indolic weight of the natural material. In Première Peau's Nuit Elastique (/products/nuit-elastique-jasmine-night-perfume), jasmine is the structural axis — its nocturnal, indolic character defines the entire composition.