Aroma
Intensely sweet, floral and very slightly
woody-powdery odor reminiscent of the sweetfloral notes in Mimosa and Cassie. Also
remotely reminiscent of Heliotrope.
The taste in dilutions below 50 ppm is sweet,
somewhat fruity and "Cherry-pit"-like. Higher
concentrations tend to show a somewhat bitter
taste.
Uses in Perfume
For several decades well kept as a "secret"
chemical this ketone is one of the most interest ing and successful condensation products
from a perfumery point of view. Piperonyl acetone finds
application in Lilac, Lily, Sweet Pea, Appleblossom, Mimosa, Cassie, Ylang-Ylang, Heliotrope, Carnation, etc. and is particularly
interesting in lipstick perfumes, also because
it blends well with lonones.
Piperonyl acetone finds use in flavor compositions for imitation Cherry ("pit flavor")
in various fruit complexes. Occasionally as a
modifier in Vanilla imitation.
The concentration is about 8 to 45 ppm in
finished products. The highest figures are
usually in icecream, about 50 ppm.
Description
4-(3,4-Methylenedioxyphenyl)-2-butanone has an intensely sweet,
floral, slightly woody odor. May be prepared by condensation of
heliotropin with acetone, followed by hydrogenation in the presence of a palladium catalyst.
Chemical Properties
4-(3,4-Methylenedioxyphenyl)-2-butanone has an intensely sweet, floral, slightly woody odor reminiscent of raspberry,
cotton candy (i.e., candy floss) with a cassie, heliotrope association.
Occurrence
Has apparently not been reported to occur in nature.
Preparation
By condensation of heliotropin with acetone, followed by hydrogenation in the presence of a palladium catalyst
Definition
ChEBI: 4-(3,4-Methylenedioxyphenyl)-2-butanone is a member of benzodioxoles.
Taste threshold values
Taste characteristics at 40 ppm: sweet, berry-like with spicy, jamy nuances
Metabolism
The oxygen-aromatic carbon link of aromatic ethers is generally biologically stable, and possible metabolites include the p-hydroxy derivative of the ether, the phenol or the p-hydroxyphenol (Williams, 1959). Ketones are not readily metabolized in the body. As a derivative of 2-butanone, piperonyl acetone might be expected to be partially reduced to the secondary alcohol and excreted as the glucuronide (Williams, 1959), since Saneyoshi (1911) isolated the glucuronide of 2-butanol from the urine of rabbits receiving methyl ethyl ketone.
