Fenchone is an

organic compound In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. T ...

classified as a

monoterpenoid Monoterpenes are a class of terpenes that consist of two isoprene units and have the molecular formula C10H16. Monoterpenes may be linear (acyclic) or contain rings (monocyclic and bicyclic). Modified terpenes, such as those containing oxygen funct ...

and a ketone. It is a colorless oily liquid. It has a structure and an odor similar to those of camphor. Fenchone is a constituent of absinthe and the essential oil of

fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

. Fenchone is used as a flavor in foods and in perfumery.Karl-Georg Fahlbusch, Franz-Josef Hammerschmidt, Johannes Panten, Wilhelm Pickenhagen, Dietmar Schatkowski, Kurt Bauer, Dorothea Garbe, Horst Surburg "Flavors and Fragrances" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim: 2002. Published online: 15 January 2003; . Other names for fenchone include ''dl''-fenchone and (±)-fenchone. It is a mixture of the enantiomers ''d''-fenchone and ''l''-fenchone. Other names for ''d''-fenchone include (+)-fenchone and (1''S'',4''R'')-fenchone. Other names for ''l''-fenchone include (−)-fenchone and (1''R'',4''S'')-fenchone. The ''d''-fenchone enantiomer occurs in pure form in

wild Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wild animal * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild'' (2014 film), a 2014 A ...

, bitter and

sweet fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized i ...

plants and seeds, whereas the ''l''-fenchone enantiomer occurs in pure form in wormwood,

tansy Tansy (''Tanacetum vulgare'') is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant in the genus ''Tanacetum'' in the aster family, native to temperate Europe and Asia. It has been introduced to other parts of the world, including North America, and in ...

, and cedarleaf.U. Ravid, E. Putievsky, I. Katzir, R. Ikan “Chiral gc analysis of enantiomerically pure fenchone in essential oils” in Flavour and Fragrance Journal, 7: 169-172, John Wiley & Sons: 1992. Published online: June 1992; .

References

Absinthe Ketones Monoterpenes Cyclopentanes {{ketone-stub