Bourgeonal is an
aromatic
In chemistry, aromaticity is a chemical property of cyclic ( ring-shaped), ''typically'' planar (flat) molecular structures with pi bonds in resonance (those containing delocalized electrons) that gives increased stability compared to satur ...
aldehyde
In organic chemistry, an aldehyde () is an organic compound containing a functional group with the structure . The functional group itself (without the "R" side chain) can be referred to as an aldehyde but can also be classified as a formyl grou ...
used in perfumery. It has a fragrance reminiscent of
lily of the valley
Lily of the valley (''Convallaria majalis'' (), sometimes written lily-of-the-valley, is a woodland flowering plant with sweetly scented, pendent, bell-shaped white flowers borne in sprays in spring. It is native throughout the cool temperate No ...
, otherwise described as floral, watery, green and aldehydic. It is a pale yellow liquid at room temperature.
It is toxic if swallowed and can cause skin irritation and sensitisation on contact.
In a 2003 study it was found that in vitro, bourgeonal acts as a
chemo-attractant for human
spermatozoa
A spermatozoon (; also spelled spermatozoön; ; ) is a motile sperm cell, or moving form of the haploid cell that is the male gamete. A spermatozoon joins an ovum to form a zygote. (A zygote is a single cell, with a complete set of chromos ...
, activating an olfactory receptor called
OR1D2 (formerly called hOR17-4)
which opens calcium ion channels in the
sperm, leading them to swim twice as fast.
Bourgeonal is suspected to be involved in helping sperm locate the
ovum.
As of 2010, bourgeonal is the only known odor substance to which males have a higher average sensitivity than females.
This is thought to be because the same olfactory receptor (OR1D2) is expressed in non-olfactory tissue in sperm cells as well as the olfactory tissue of the nose. The involvement with sperm
chemotaxis causes an evolutionary pressure for males (
sexual selection
Sexual selection is a mode of natural selection in which members of one biological sex choose mates of the other sex to mate with (intersexual selection), and compete with members of the same sex for access to members of the opposite sex ( ...
) that causes them to have more OR1D2 receptors on average, both in the nose as well as in sperm.
References
{{reflist
Perfume ingredients
Aldehydes
Tert-butyl compounds