The Smelling Principle of Vetiver Oil, Unveiled by Chemical Synthesis

Jie Ouyang1, Hanyong Bae2, Samuel Jordi3

  • 1Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1, 45470, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany.

Related Concept Videos

Aromatic Compounds: Overview01:25

Aromatic Compounds: Overview

In general, the term ‘aromatic’ indicates a pleasant smell or fragrance from fresh flowers, freshly prepared coffee, etc. In the early history of organic chemistry, many benzene derivatives were isolated from the pleasant odor oils of the plants. For example, vanillin was isolated from the oil of vanilla, methyl salicylate from the oil of wintergreen, and cinnamaldehyde from the oil of cinnamon. They all had a pleasant odor; hence the name aromatic was given.
In 1825, Faraday isolated...
12.6K
Olfaction01:25

Olfaction

The sense of smell is achieved through the activities of the olfactory system. It starts when an airborne odorant enters the nasal cavity and reaches olfactory epithelium (OE). The OE is protected by a thin layer of mucus, which also serves the purpose of dissolving more complex compounds into simpler chemical odorants. The size of the OE and the density of sensory neurons varies among species; in humans, the OE is only about 9-10 cm2.
The olfactory receptors are embedded in the cilia of the...
47.2K
Volatilization01:10

Volatilization

Volatilization gravimetry is an analytical technique that measures the mass lost due to the volatilization of the substance. This technique is used to estimate the amount of volatile material in a sample. To perform this method, heat a known amount of the sample to a high temperature in a crucible or other suitable vessel. The volatile substance in the sample evaporates, and the vapor is completely expelled from the crucible either by heating the sample or bubbling a stream of inert gas through...
2.8K
Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution: Sulfonation of Benzene01:22

Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution: Sulfonation of Benzene

Sulfonation of benzene is a reaction wherein benzene is treated with fuming sulfuric acid at room temperature to produce benzenesulfonic acid. Fuming sulfuric acid is a mixture of sulfur trioxide and concentrated sulfuric acid.
7.3K
Physiology of Smell and Olfactory Pathway01:20

Physiology of Smell and Olfactory Pathway

Humans detect odors with the help of specialized cells located in the upper part of the nasal cavity, called olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs). ORNs possess hair-like structures called cilia, which are receptive to sensations from the inhaled air. When an odorant molecule binds to a specific receptor on the cell of the cilia, it leads to a series of events that ultimately cause the ORN to send electrical signals to the olfactory bulb in the brain through the olfactory nerves.
The olfactory...
11.2K
Distillation: Vapor–Liquid Equilibria01:01

Distillation: Vapor–Liquid Equilibria

Distillation is a separation technique that takes advantage of the boiling point properties of disparate elements in a mixture. To perform distillation, we begin by heating a miscible mixture of two liquids with a significant difference in boiling points (at least 20°C). As the solution heats up and reaches the bubble point of the more volatile component, some molecules of the more volatile component transition into the gas phase and travel upward into the condenser, which is a glass tube...
3.9K