Wolfberry

Natural & syntheticFRUITS, VEGETABLES & NUTSfruity · sweet · spicy

HeartPyramid

3/5Strength

200hTenacity

1Origins

Specimen

Lycium barbarum

Natural / Synthetic reconstruction

Definition

Dried-fruit tartness cut with green aldehydes. Not a berry in the blackcurrant or raspberry sense — more like a raisin crossed with a tomato leaf, with a faint saffron-like undertone from trace beta-cyclocitral. In perfumery, wolfberry is almost exclusively a fantasy note: reconstructed from synthetic accords rather than extracted from the fruit itself.

CITRUS GREEN FRUITY FRESH HERBAL

GOJI BERRY LYCIUM BAIE DE GOJI GOU QI ZI CHINESE WOLFBERRY ·

Type: Ingredient
Olfactive family: Fruity
Subfamily: Berry notes
Cluster: Berry notes
Source: fruit
Chemical class: complex natural (absolute); predominantly reconstructed as fantasy accord

Instruments

Pyramid

TTop

HHeart

BBase

3/5Strength

Medium

odour strength

Tenacity on blotter

200hours · 8 days

1 h6 h24 h3 d7 d400 h

Producing countries

China

Scent

Green-aldehydic and tart, not conventionally sweet. The dominant impression is cut-grass freshness from hexanal and (E)-2-hexenal — closer to a crushed tomato vine than to a bowl of berries. Behind the green wall, a faint saffron-tobacco whisper from beta-cyclocitral, and a dry violet-woody note from beta-ionone. Less juicy than blackcurrant, less jammy than raspberry, less cloying than strawberry. The tartness has a savoury edge that recalls dried fruit left in the sun — chewy, concentrated, faintly mineral. On a smelling strip, the green aldehydes flash off within minutes; what lingers is a faint, waxy, dried-fruit sweetness with a whiff of hay.

In PREMIEREPEAU

DISCOVERY SET7 × 2 ml →EXTRAIT DE PARFUMThe seven extraits →

Terroir & Post-Harvest Process

The Full Story

Wolfberry — the dried fruit of Lycium barbarum (Solanaceae, the nightshade family) — is not a conventional perfumery raw material. No commercial essential oil exists. A fruit absolute (CAS 85085-46-7) is catalogued but rarely traded in volume. In practice, 'goji berry' as it appears on a fragrance pyramid is a fantasy note: an accord built from synthetic aroma chemicals to carries the fruit's character, not a distillation or extraction of the berry itself.

Volatile Chemistry

GC-MS analysis of Ningxia goji berries (Zhu et al., Int. J. Food Properties, 2017, 20:sup2) identified 56 volatile compounds. Hexanal (CAS 66-25-1) and (E)-2-hexenal (CAS 6728-26-3) dominate, together accounting for 70–94% of total volatiles — these are C6 green-leaf aldehydes, the same molecules responsible for the smell of cut grass and crushed tomato leaves. Other character-impact odorants include nonanal (waxy-aldehydic), d-limonene (citrus), linalool (floral-woody), beta-cyclocitral (saffron-tobacco), beta-ionone (violet, woody), and 2-pentylfuran (beany, green). The overall volatile profile reads more vegetal-aldehydic than conventionally fruity — closer to a green tomato than to a raspberry.

Origin and Production

Lycium barbarum is native to northwestern China. The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region — specifically Zhongning County, along the Yellow River floodplains — accounts for approximately 61% of China's commercial goji berry production and has been the recognised terroir of origin since at least the 16th-century Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) of Li Shizhen. Additional production centres include Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, and Hebei provinces. The plant has been cultivated in China for over 600 years.

Perfumery Use

Because no viable essential oil or widely available absolute exists, the 'goji berry' note in commercial fragrances is a reconstruction. A perfumer building a goji accord might combine elements of its volatile profile: green-aldehydic freshness (hexanal, cis-3-hexenol), a saffron-like dry quality (beta-cyclocitral or safranal), a violet-woody undertone (beta-ionone), and a tart-fruity brightness from berry accords or ethyl butyrate. The result is a bright, slightly tart, slightly vegetal berry impression — less jammy than blackcurrant, less sweet than strawberry, with an unusual green-savoury dimension that distinguishes it from standard red-fruit notes.

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Related: Acai Berry · Aldehyde C 16 Strawberry · Ashberry · Barberry · Bearberry · Blackberry · Blueberry · Boysenberry

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method

No essential oil is commercially produced from wolfberry fruit. The fruit absolute (CAS 85085-46-7, Lycium barbarum fruit absolute) is obtained by solvent extraction of dried berries, but it is a specialty product with minimal trade volume. In practice, the 'goji berry' note in perfumery is not extracted from the fruit at all — it is a synthetic reconstruction (fantasy accord) built from individual aroma chemicals that approximate the fruit's volatile profile. The key building blocks identified by GC-MS include hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal, beta-cyclocitral, beta-ionone, linalool, d-limonene, and nonanal.

Formula: Hexanal (C₆H₁₂O, CAS 66-25-1, 70–94% of volatiles) · (E)-2-Hexenal (C₆H₁₀O, CAS 6728-26-3) · β-Cyclocitral (C₁₀H₁₆O, CAS 432-25-7) · β-Ionone (C₁₃H₂₀O, CAS 14901-07-6)
CAS: 85085-46-7
Botanical: Lycium barbarum
Appearance: pale brown to brown liquid
Odour strength: Medium
Lasting power: 200 hours
Synonyms: GOJI BERRY LYCIUM BAIE DE GOJI GOU QI ZI CHINESE WOLFBERRY ·

IFRA status

No restriction

No known restrictions

Physical properties

Note: Goji berry (Lycium barbarum) extract. No commercial essential oil. Rich in zeaxanthin, polysaccharides, and betaine. Olfactory note is fruity, slightly tart, berry-like.

In Perfumery

Wolfberry is a fantasy note in perfumery — a reconstruction, not an extraction. No commercial essential oil exists, and the fruit absolute (CAS 85085-46-7) is a specialty product with limited availability. When a perfumer lists 'goji berry' in a composition, they are building an accord from synthetic and natural materials that carries the fruit's character. Functionally, the goji berry accord operates as a top-to-heart modifier: a fruity-green accent that reads as exotic, tart, and slightly savoury — distinct from standard red-fruit notes. Its green-aldehydic backbone (hexanal, cis-3-hexenol) provides freshness; its saffron-like qualities (beta-cyclocitral, safranal) add an unexpected dryness; its violet-woody undertone (beta-ionone) gives it depth without heaviness. The accord pairs with citrus notes (amplifying brightness), with green tea accords (reinforcing the vegetal-aldehydic axis), and with light musks (where it adds a fruity topnote without sweetness). It has no structural role in classical fragrance families — no chypre, fougere, or amber depends on it. It belongs to the contemporary vocabulary of constructed fruit notes. No confirmed presence in the current PREMIEREPEAU collection.

Role in the formula

01modifier

02lifting agent

03blender

Available as

absolute fantasy accord (reconstruction)