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Myrcene in Perfumery | Première Peau

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.

GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES / herbal · spicy · peppery

Myrcene

Category	GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES
Subcategory	herbal · spicy · peppery
Origin
Volatility	Top Note
Botanical	N/A — monoterpene (naturally in Humulus lupulus, Cannabis sativa, Myrcia spp.)
Appearance	Colorless clear liquid with a pleasant herbaceous-woody balsamic odor
Producing Countries	China, India, USA
Pyramid	Top

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.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery
See Also

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.

Evolution over time

Immediately

After a few hours

After a few days

The Full Story

CAS 123-35-3. Beta-myrcene is an acyclic monoterpene (C₁₀H₁₆, MW 136.24) and a consequential molecules 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 distinctive but rarely showcased in isolation. ScenTree describes a singular caper-like facet 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.

Did You Know?

Did you know?

The US National Toxicology Program's 2-year gavage study (NTP TR 593, 2010) found clear evidence of carcinogenic activity of beta-myrcene in male rats (renal tubule neoplasms) and male mice (hepatocellular adenoma, carcinoma, and hepatoblastoma). Despite this, myrcene carries no IFRA restriction for dermal application in fragrance — a reminder that route of exposure, dose, and metabolism matter more than a binary 'carcinogen' label.

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.

Molecular Formula	C10H16
CAS Number	123-35-3
Botanical Name	N/A — monoterpene (naturally in Humulus lupulus, Cannabis sativa, Myrcia spp.)
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Synonyms	beta-myrcene, myrcia
Physical Properties
Lasting Power	< 1 hour (neat)
Appearance	Colorless clear liquid with a pleasant herbaceous-woody balsamic odor
Boiling Point	166.00 to 167.00 °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.
Melting Point	-10.00 °C. @ 760.00 mm Hg

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.