title: Unravelling the scent of vetiver: identification of character-impact compounds.
abstract: Vetiver oil is a highly esteemed basic ingredient of modern perfumery, but the nature of the constituents that really impart its typical and most sought woody-earthy scent has remained controversial. Indeed, vetiver oil is considered as one of the most complex essential oils, being mostly composed of several hundreds of sesquiterpene derivatives with a large structural diversity. Its complexity has hindered the direct identification of its odoriferous components. We thus aimed at using a combination of GC×GC/MS and GC-Olfactometry in order to identify most of its odor-impact constituents. The olfactory analysis of vetiver oil and vetiveryl acetate revealed a huge variety of odors in both products. While khusimone has almost unanimously been recognized as the most characteristic vetiver odorant, we have identified several even more important contributors to the typical vetiver character.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université Nice Sophia Antipolis, UMR 7272 CNRS, Parc Valrose, FR-06108 Nice (phone: +33492076129; fax: +33492076151).
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Belhassen
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Baldovini
authors.forename: Hugues
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brevard
authors.forename: Uwe J
authors.initials: UJ
authors.lastname: Meierhenrich
authors.forename: Jean-Jacques
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Filippi
mesh_terms: D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D049930:Chrysopogon / Q000737:chemistry*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D009812:Odorants / Q000032:analysis*; D064367:Olfactometry; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D010938:Plant Oils
keywords: Chrysopogon zizanioides; Gas chromatography; Olfactometry; Vetiver oil; Zizaanes