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Yohimbe

Q: Is Yohimbe natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: Yohimbe bark is not commercially distilled or extracted for perfumery. The pharmaceutical industry extracts the alkaloid yohimbine via solvent extraction of dried bark. Any perfumery use is a fantasy accord reconstructed from other materials. Bark tinctures are theoretically possible but not standard practice..

WOODS AND MOSSES / woody · earthy · green

Yohimbe

Category	WOODS AND MOSSES
Subcategory	woody · earthy · green
Origin
Volatility	Heart Note
Botanical	Pausinystalia yohimbe (K.Schum.) Pierre ex Beille
Appearance	Pale yellow to amber viscous liquid
Odor Strength	Medium
Producing Countries	Africa, West Africa
Pyramid	Heart

Dry, bitter bark stripped from a West African tree prized more for its aphrodisiac legend than its scent. The smell is astringent and medicinal, closer to quinine than to any perfumer's palette.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Bitter bark, dry and astringent. A medicinal quality similar to of quinine or gentian root. Earthy undertone, raw and unsweet, like damp wood left in shade. Faint alkaloid sharpness at the edges, more chemical than aromatic. Less warm than cinnamon, less resinous than myrrh, more austere than either. The bitterness is clean and mineral, not putrid.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Sharp bitter bark, medicinal astringency, alkaloid edge

After a few hours

Dry earthy wood, quinine-like bitterness, austere and mineral

After a few days

Faint woody residue, persistent dryness

The Full Story

Yohimbe (Pausinystalia johimbe (K. Schum.) Pierre ex Beille, Rubiaceae — formerly P. yohimbe) is the bark of a West African tropical tree, sourced principally from Cameroon, Gabon, Nigeria and the Congo basin. The bark contains yohimbine (CAS 146-48-5, an indole alkaloid) and a small family of related alkaloids — the chemistry that drives its long ethnobotanical reputation as a stimulant and aphrodisiac [A].

This note in Première Peau. Nuit Elastique. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

In perfumery

Yohimbe has no commercial essential oil. The bark itself smells dry, bitter and faintly woody — closer to broken cinchona than to any standard perfumery natural. Any 'yohimbe' note in fragrance is a conceptual reference (built from bitter-woody-dry materials: dry vetiver, leather, smoky cypriol, tobacco), not an actual extract. The pharmacology is the marketing — the smell is incidental.

Sources

[A] Yohimbine alkaloid chemistry — see standard pharmacognosy references. PubChem CID 8969 — yohimbine, CAS 146-48-5.

Did You Know?

Did you know?

Cameroon exports roughly 100 tonnes of yohimbe bark annually, almost entirely for the pharmaceutical and dietary supplement industries. Destructive harvesting methods that strip bark from live trees cause 50-90% post-harvest tree mortality, making the trade a serious conservation concern.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: Yohimbe bark is not commercially distilled or extracted for perfumery. The pharmaceutical industry extracts the alkaloid yohimbine via solvent extraction of dried bark. Any perfumery use is a fantasy accord reconstructed from other materials. Bark tinctures are theoretically possible but not standard practice.

Molecular Formula	Key alkaloid: yohimbine C₂₁H₂₆N₂O₃ (CAS 146-48-5)
CAS Number	85117-22-2
Botanical Name	Pausinystalia yohimbe (K.Schum.) Pierre ex Beille
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Synonyms	yohimbine, Yohimbe bark
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	Medium
Appearance	Pale yellow to amber viscous liquid

In Perfumery

Yohimbe is not a standard perfumery material. TGSC classifies it as not for fragrance use. When it appears on a fragrance pyramid, it functions as a fantasy note, an olfactory fiction built from dark bark accords, bitter-woody molecules, and earthy bases. Its value is entirely conceptual: the aphrodisiac reputation lends narrative tension to compositions exploring desire or provocation. A perfumer representing yohimbe would likely reach for bitter woods such as quassia, astringent bark tinctures, and dry earthy bases. The note belongs to the same imaginary shelf as concepts like skin, asphalt, or ink, where the idea carries more weight than any single raw material.