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Citronellol has a characteristic rose-like odor. Because odor plays such an important part in selecting this material, there may be special grades of citronellol that do not meet the Essential Oil Association specification. These limits have been broadened enough to include best qualities of commercial citronellol and chemically pure citronellol. l-Citronellol has a sweet, peach-like flavor; d-citronellol has a bitter taste.

colourless liquid with a characteristic, rose-like, smell

l-Citronellol has been found in the plants of the Rosaceae family; d- and dl-citronellol have been identified in Verbenaceae, Labiatae, Rutaceae, Geraniaceae and others; citronellol has been reported in about 70 essential oils and in the oil of Rosa bourbonia; the Bulgarian rose oil has been reported to contain more than 50% l-citronellol, whereas East African geranium contains more than 80% of the d-isomer; the natural product is always optically active. Reported found in guava fruit, orange, bilberry, blackcurrant, nutmeg, ginger, corn mint oil (Mentha arvensis L. var. piperascens), mustard, pennyroyal oil (Mentha pulegium L.), hop oil, tea, coriander seed, cardamom, beer, rum, and apple juice.

ChEBI: A monoterpenoid that is oct-6-ene substituted by a hydroxy group at position 1 and methyl groups at positions 3 and 7.

By reduction of citronellal or geraniol or by fractional distillation of such essential oils as geranium and citronella (Bedoukian, 1967).

Detection at 11 ppb to 2.2 ppm; l-form, 40 ppb

Taste characteristics at 20 ppm: floral, rose, sweet and green with fruity citrus nuances.

The Journal of Organic Chemistry, 60, p. 2260, 1995 DOI: 10.1021/jo00112a056
Synthesis, p. 391, 1976
Tetrahedron Letters, 30, p. 5677, 1989 DOI: 10.1016/S0040-4039(00)76168-5

Nonflammable

It is generally accepted to distinguish rhodinol as the product isolated from geranium consisting of a mixture of l-citronellol and geraniol, whereas the name l-citronellol should be used to indicate the corresponding synthetic product with the highest level of purity; dl-citronellol can be prepared by catalytic hydrogenation of geraniol or by oxidation of allo-cyrnene; l-citronellol is prepared from (+) d-pinene via (+) cis-pinene to (+) 2,6-dimethyl-2,7-octadiene and, finally, isolating l-citronellol by hydrolysis of the aluminum-organo compound.

4°C, protect from light

Purify them bydistillation through a cannon packed (Ni) column and the main cut collected at 84o/14mm and redistilled. Also purify via the benzoate. [IR: Eschenazi J Org Chem 26 3072 1961, Naves Bull Soc Chim Fr 505 1951, Beilstein 1 IV 2188.]