Chemical Properties
Anisyl butyrate has a weak, floral, intensely sweet, plum-like odor
Occurrence
Has apparently not been reported to occur in nature.
Application
Occasionally anisyl butyrate is used in perfumery as a fixative-modifier in fruity-floral fragrance types (Gardenia, Freesia, Magnolia, etc.). Finds some use in flavor compositions for imitation Vanilla, in some fruit flai ors and in Licorice flavorings. Concentrations are usually about 10 to 14 ppm in the finished consumer product. The n-butyrate seems to be slightly less stable than the iso-butyrate, and therefore often show an unpleasant “butyric” topnote due to traces of free acid.
Definition
ChEBI:4-Methoxybenzyl butanoate is a carboxylic ester. It is functionally related to a benzyl alcohol.
Preparation
From anisyl alcohol and n-butyric acid.
Metabolism
Esters of benzyl alcohol, such as the acetate, are rapidly hydrolysed in vivo to benzyl alcohol, which is then oxidized. The expected general reaction of primary aromatic alcohols in the animal body is oxidation to the corresponding aromatic acid, which is usually excreted as a glycine conjugate and to a lesser extent as an ester glucuronide. In rabbits, benzyl alcohol is almost entirely converted to benzoic acid, which is excreted mainly as hippuric acid . In substituted anisoles with a carboxyl group or a potential carboxyl group attached to the aromatic ring, the ether link is relatively stable
