Pyruvic aldehyde (methylglyoxal) is an extremely pungent, sharp aldehydic material with a caramel-like, slightly burnt sugar facet and a fermented, almost buttery undertone. In isolation it is harsh and irritating, but at trace levels it lends a caramellic-fruity nuance reminiscent of browned sugar or caramelized malt.AI · claude-opus-4-7
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Perfume and Flavor Chemicals, page 1222.
Hygroscopic, yellow, mobile liquid.
Aqueous and alcoholic solutions are colorless, while the solutions in oils are yellowish.
Pungent, stinging odor, very diffusive and of poor tenacity.
The taste is pungent-caramellic, but also sweet in concentrations below 5 ppm. Higher concentrations give impression of acid sweetness.
The title aldehyde is used in minute traces in imitation Coffee, Maple, Honey, Caramel and Rum flavors. The concentration in finished products is seldom higher than 1 ppm.
1) by oxidation of Acetone with Selenium dioxide. 2) by heating of Dihydroxyacetone with Phosphorus pentoxide. 3) by warming of iso-Nitroso acetone with dilute sulfuric acid.