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Patchouli Oil

CAS
84238-39-1
EC
Material type
natural essential oil
Canonical source
arctander
Formulation

Usage guidance

Suggested min
Suggested max
Cost
Stock
Compatibility tags
chypreorientalfougereamberwoodyleather
How it behaves

Olfactory profile

Family
sweet
Note tendency
Base
Descriptors
floralfruitygreenwoodybalsamicspicyherbaceoussweetearthymintypinerosephenolic

Deep, earthy woody aroma with damp forest-floor and slightly musty facets, underlined by a soft camphoraceous lift and a sweet balsamic warmth. Ages beautifully — younger oils are sharper and more camphor-green, while aged patchouli becomes rounder, sweeter, and almost cocoa-like.AI · claude-opus-4-7

Intensity
7 / 10
Tenacity
9 / 10
Volatility
2 / 10
EU cosmetic labelling

Allergen disclosure

AllergenCAS% in ingredient
Pogostemon Cablin Oil8014-09-3100%
beta-Caryophyllene87-44-56%
From supplier SDS

Composition

Substances declared in this material, parsed from the uploaded SDS. Percentages are used by the formula compliance engine to compute effective constituent concentrations.

ConstituentCAS%Range
alpha - Guaiene3691-12-120–50%
Patchouli Alcohol5986-55-0
Beta-Caryophyllene87-44-5
naturals · No. 331

Arctander monograph

Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin, page 316.

BASEtenacity · highpower · strongsteam distillation
sweetherbaceousaromaticspicywoodybalsamicmintyswampybarnyard-like
Appearance

Patchouli Oil is a dark orange or brownish-colored, viscous liquid.

Odor

Patchouli oil possesses an extremely rich, sweet-herbaceous, aromatic-spicy and woody-balsamic odor. An almost wine-like, ethereal-floral sweetness in the initial notes is characteristic of good oils, although this topnote can be absent or masked in freshly distilled, otherwise good oils. The odor should remain sweet through all stages of evaporation.

Flavor

In flavors, patchouli oil once was widely used in the 'Sen-Sen' type of licorice flavoring. Combined with geranium, ionones, orris extracts, nitromusks, anise, clove, etc., it produced a very heavy 'Oriental' flavor, popular as a masking agent for alcoholic breath, onion or garlic odors, etc. as an 'after-dinner' candy.

Uses in perfumery

Patchouli Oil is used so extensively that it is hardly possible to specify its field of application. It blends beautifully with labdanum, vetiver, sandalwood, ionones, cedarwood derivatives, coumarin, oakmoss, geranium, clove oils, lavender, rose, bergamot, neroli, orris 'resinoid', nitromusks, cinnamates, methyl salicylate, cassia oil, myrrh, opopanax, sage clary absolute, borneol, pine needle oils, cyclohexanone derivatives, etc. It forms an important ingredient in Oriental bases, woody bases, fougères, chypres, opopanax bases, powder-type perfumes, etc. It is an excellent masking agent for depilatory creams, e.g. in combination with orange type materials.

Uses in flavor

The rather soapy-perfumey flavor is no longer very popular in Europe; it is slowly disappearing in the U.S.A., but is still used in Asia and South America.

Production

In order to get a full yield of the essential oil by steam distillation, it is necessary to rupture the cell walls in the leaf material prior to distillation. This can be performed by controlled, light fermentation, by scalding with superheated steam, or by stacking or baling the dried leaves, thus 'curing' them by modest and interrupted fermentation. If carried out properly, the latter method yields the best perfume oil.

Identity
Aliases · 6
PATCHOULIPATCHOULI OIL DARK IN DONESIAPatchouli Oil (native distilled)Patchouli ResinoidPogostemon CablinPogostemon Patchouli
Commercial
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Compliance note. Restriction data is sourced directly from IFRA publications and preserved with its document excerpt. Perfume Foundry is a compliance-support tool — not a substitute for a qualified safety assessor (CPSR / PIF).