Damascones are a series of closely related chemical compounds that are components of a variety of

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...

s. The damascones belong to a family of chemicals known as rose ketones, which also includes

damascenone Damascenones are a series of closely related chemical compounds that are components of a variety of essential oils. The damascenones belong to a family of chemicals known as rose ketones, which also includes damascones and ionones. ''beta''-Dam ...

s and

ionone The ionones are a series of closely related chemical substances that are part of a group of compounds known as rose ketones, which also includes damascones and damascenones. Ionones are aroma compounds found in a variety of essential oils, inclu ...

s. ''beta''-Damascone is a contributor to the aroma of roses, despite its relatively low concentration, and is an important fragrance chemical used in perfumery. The damascones are derived from the degradation of

carotenoid Carotenoids (), also called tetraterpenoids, are yellow, orange, and red organic compound, organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, and Fungus, fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpki ...

s.Volatile Compounds Released by Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Glycoconjugates of Leaves and Grape Berries from Vitis vinifera Muscat of Alexandria and Shiraz Cultivars. Jérémie Wirth, Wenfei Guo, Raymond Baumes and Ziya Günata, J. Agric. Food Chem., 2001, 49 (6), pages 2917–2923,

See also

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