Methyl Phenylacetate
Premium Synthetic Ingredient for Perfumery
Methyl Phenylacetate is a synthetic aromatic ester formed from methanol and phenylacetic acid. Known for its intensely sweet, floral-honey character with musky and jasmine nuances, it serves as a low-cost but high-impact top-to-heart note modifier. Its role in perfumery includes masking solvents, enriching rose-jasmine accords, and contributing oriental and waxy depth, especially in household and tobacco compositions.
Premium Synthetic Ingredient for Perfumery
Methyl Phenylacetate is a synthetic aromatic ester formed from methanol and phenylacetic acid. Known for its intensely sweet, floral-honey character with musky and jasmine nuances, it serves as a low-cost but high-impact top-to-heart note modifier. Its role in perfumery includes masking solvents, enriching rose-jasmine accords, and contributing oriental and waxy depth, especially in household and tobacco compositions.
Premium Synthetic Ingredient for Perfumery
Methyl Phenylacetate is a synthetic aromatic ester formed from methanol and phenylacetic acid. Known for its intensely sweet, floral-honey character with musky and jasmine nuances, it serves as a low-cost but high-impact top-to-heart note modifier. Its role in perfumery includes masking solvents, enriching rose-jasmine accords, and contributing oriental and waxy depth, especially in household and tobacco compositions.
Synthetic Ingredient Overview
📂 CAS N°: 101-41-7
⚖️ MW: 150.17 g/mol
📝 Odor Type: Honey
📈 Odor Strength: High
👃🏼 Odor Profile: Sweet, floral, fruity, honey, spice-like
👅 Flavor Profile: Floral, honey, spice, waxy, sweet
⚗️ Uses: Honey character builder in florals and orientals; masking agent; tobacco and flavoring applications
🧴 Appearance: Colorless to pale liquid
What is Methyl Phenylacetate?
Methyl Phenylacetate is an organic ester with the structural formula C₆H₅CH₂COOCH₃. It is formed by esterification of phenylacetic acid with methanol. While synthetic, it occurs naturally in trace amounts in honey, wine, coffee, cocoa, and brandy. As a colorless liquid with limited water solubility, it blends well in alcohol-based and non-aqueous fragrance systems.
The ester has a very powerful, diffusive honey odor even at low concentrations, and is most safely evaluated around 10% dilution. Its high impact and low cost have made it a widespread material in jasmine and rose bases, particularly where economy and strength are priorities.
Olfactory Profile & Perfumery Applications
Methyl Phenylacetate opens with a bright honey-sweet floralcy, drying down to a mild musky-jasmine nuance. Often used in rose variants like Rose Eglantine, it offers immediate lift and blends well with indole, phenylethyl alcohol, and aliphatic aldehydes. Its moderate tenacity is enhanced by fixatives, notably musks, allowing its sweetness to persist in the drydown.
Notable roles:
Floral: Jasmine, rose, neroli
Oriental and balsamic: Combined with civet-like materials
Functional perfumery: Masking solvent odor in waxes and polishes
Detergents and household: Cost-effective sweetener with diffusion
At trace levels, it creates civet-like illusions when used with indole, suitable for animalic floral designs.
Industrial & Technical Uses
Flavor compositions (esp. honey, chocolate, tobacco)
Tobacco flavorings, especially oriental blends
Solvent masking in wax-based industrial products
Floor and furniture polishes
Trace use in strawberry, peach, and fruit-type flavors
Regulatory & Safety Overview
FEMA N°: 2680
GRAS Status: FEMA GRAS approved for flavor use
IFRA: No specific restriction (check IFRA 51st Amendment for formulation class)
Solubility: Poor in water, high in alcohols and organic solvents
Toxicity: Oral LD50 in rats ~599 mg/kg (Bär & Griepentrog, 1967)
Irritation/Sensitization: Minimal under standard use (Kligman, 1971)
Environmental: Readily biodegradable under standard conditions
⚠️ Materials with phenylacetic acid impurities can introduce unwanted animalic effects.
Additional Information
Natural Occurrence: Found in small amounts in brandy, cocoa, coffee, honey, wine, peanut, hop oil, and pepper.
Production: Most industrial synthesis is via Friedel-Crafts acetylation of benzyl cyanide (from benzyl chloride) followed by hydrolysis and esterification with methanol.
Sensory Handling: Overuse can lead to sharp or “unclean” animalic notes; best used below 1% for perfumery and below 35 ppm for flavoring.
Sources
Fulvio Ciccolo, Scentspiracy Internal Archive
Perfume and Flavor Chemicals, S. Arctander
National Center for Biotechnology Information (CID 7559)
FEMA GRAS Database
PubChem Chemistry Database
