Material guide · 15
Material guide: beta-ionone — one molecule bridging violet and berries
· 11 min read
CAS 14901-07-6 combines violet, woody and berry facets. With 78 suppliers and 76-hour substantivity, this guide concentrates on how it moves from floral to fruit in a formula.
The ethylene brassylate guide told the story of one musk bottle reading at different strengths to different noses. This is the other half of that story, with cleaner genetics.
What matters
- Beta-ionone is the signature molecule of violet, with a berry-and-beeswax sweetness. Most "violet" and berry notes in perfumery start here.
- More than 96% of the variation in sensitivity to it is explained by a single genetic variant, olfactory genetics' closest thing to Mendel's peas. The sensitive call it "fragrant, floral"; the less sensitive describe it differently.
- Those sensitive to it tend to be less sensitive to macrocyclic musks (an observed inverse correlation). Your nose is a set of trade-offs, not one universal antenna.
The record
| CAS | 14901-07-6 |
| Formula | C₁₃H₂₀O |
| MW | 192.30 |
| Odour | floral, woody, sweet, fruity, berry, tropical, beeswax, green |
| Strength | medium (evaluate at 10% or less) |
| Substantivity | 112 h (neat, on a strip) |
| Specific gravity | 0.939–0.947 (25 °C) |
| Shelf life | 24 months or longer (cool, dark, sealed) |
| Registers | GRAS, JECFA, CoE, FEMA GRAS, IFRA |
Plain reading: CAS is the material's ID number; 112 hours sits at the heart-base border, shorter than ethylene brassylate (208 h), longer than PEA (32 h). Note "berry" and "beeswax" sitting side by side in the descriptors: that waxy-sweet compound character is exactly why raspberry accords and violet accords share this molecule.
Some noses receive it as a different material
One OR5A1 variant explained most beta-ionone sensitivity differences in one study. The case now belongs to Why smell research keeps using the same odorants and individual differences; this guide keeps its violet and berry work.
Smelling it
- Evaluate at 10% or less; the database says so. High concentrations lean woody-waxy, and the violet finesse only appears diluted. My first strip of it was neat, all wax and wood, and I briefly wondered if I had bought the wrong material.
- Violet and berry are two faces of one molecule: low dose reads floral, higher reads fruity. Run your own 0.1% / 1% / 10% ladder side by side once.
- Alpha or beta? Alpha-ionone (115 suppliers) is lighter and more orris-powdery; beta is woodier and berrier. The pair side by side is violet's first lesson.
- Classic pairings: with benzyl acetate and a green note you have classical violet; with fruit esters you drift towards raspberry.
The catalogue family
| Item | What it is |
|---|---|
| alpha-ionone (115 suppliers) | the powdery, orris-leaning sister — more widely stocked, in fact |
| beta-ionone (78 suppliers) | the material itself: violet + berry |
| alpha-isomethyl ionone (47 suppliers) | the methylated variant — soapier, longer; a functional-perfumery regular |
| dihydro-beta-ionone (30 suppliers) | the hydrogenated version — woodier, amber-leaning (the sandalwood guide's nitrogen list featured it) |
| ionone mixed isomers (30 suppliers) | the budget mixed-isomer option |
Regulatory
Listed on GRAS, JECFA, CoE, FEMA GRAS, IFRA. As always, registers carry no limit values. The ionones are regulatorily uncomplicated; for skin formulae consult the current IFRA Standards and the supplier's specification.
Buying it
- Buy a small bottle each of alpha and beta. The side-by-side is violet's fastest introduction.
- Self-test your sensitivity first: can you hear it clearly at 0.1%? If barely, you may sit on the less-sensitive side, in which case it is safer to let the blind test set the dose in your formulae.
- A 112-hour heart-base material. No freshness race; take your time.
→ Beta-ionone in the database: full properties, supplier list, suggested pairings. → Alpha-ionone | Violet leaf absolute | Search by odour: try "violet berry" for its neighbours.
References
S. R. Jaeger et al., A Mendelian trait for olfactory sensitivity affects odor experience and food selection, Current Biology, 23(16), 1601–1605 (2013). PMID 23910657
N. Sato-Akuhara et al., Genetic variation in the human olfactory receptor OR5AN1 associates with the perception of musks, Chemical Senses, 48, bjac037 (2023). PMID 36625229