ocimenol

Ocimenol, also known as 2,6-dimethyl-5,7-octadien-2-ol, is an alicyclic tertiary alcohol with the molecular formula C₁₀H₁₈O. It is characterized by a fresh citrus odor note reminiscent of lemon, lime, and sweet mace, contributing to its use in flavor and fragrance formulations. The compound is naturally present in small concentrations in various fruits, including apricot and grapefruit. Its structure and properties are documented under PubChem (CID 5368785). Due to its distinctive scent, ocimenol is employed primarily as a perfuming agent in cosmetic products as well as a flavoring ingredient in food and beverage applications.

Ocimenol is found naturally in biological sources such as apricot fruit, where it occurs at approximately 0.04 mg/kg, and grapefruit juice at around 0.01 mg/kg. Its citrus-like aroma makes it valuable as a flavor and fragrance ingredient, commonly used to impart lemon, lime, and fresh mace notes in various products. Ocimenol is permitted for use in flavor and fragrance formulations and is regulated under standards such as FEMA (Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association, US), ensuring controlled application levels in consumer products.

Ocimenol is an oily compound with a molecular weight of about 154.25 g/mol and a molecular formula C₁₀H₁₈O. It has a refractive index ranging from 1.48 to 1.486 at 20 °C and a specific gravity between 0.871 and 0.879 at ambient temperatures. With a relatively low vapor pressure of 0.012 mmHg at 25 °C and a flash point near 193 °F (approximately 89.4 °C), it presents moderate volatility and is stable under typical formulation conditions. The compound is soluble in alcohol and has limited solubility in water. The estimated partition coefficient (log P) of 2.811 suggests moderate lipophilicity, influencing its behavior in fragrance and flavor matrices.

(IUPAC):	Atomic Weights of the Elements 2011 (pdf)
Videos:	The Periodic Table of Videos
tgsc:	Atomic Weights use for this web site
(IUPAC):	Periodic Table of the Elements
HMDB (The Human Metabolome Database):	Search
YMDB (Yeast Metabolome Database):	YMDB01762
VCF-Online:	VCF Volatile Compounds in Food
ChemSpider:	View
Wikipedia:	View

Safety information

Hazards identification
Classification of the substance or mixture
GHS Classification in accordance with 29 CFR 1910 (OSHA HCS)
None found.
GHS Label elements, including precautionary statements
Pictogram
Hazard statement(s)
None found.
Precautionary statement(s)
None found.
Oral/Parenteral Toxicity:
oral-rat LD50 1700 mg/kg (Wohl, 1974f) oral-rat LD50 1700 mg/kg Food and Cosmetics Toxicology. Vol. 14, Pg. 817, 1976.
Dermal Toxicity:
Not determined
Inhalation Toxicity:
Not determined

Safety in use information

Category:
flavor and fragrance agents
RIFM Fragrance Material Safety Assessment: Search
IFRA Code of Practice Notification of the 49th Amendment to the IFRA Code of Practice
maximum skin levels for fine fragrances:
	0.0200 % and are based on the assumption that the fragrance mixture is used at 20% in a consumer product (IFRA Use Level Survey).
Recommendation for ocimenol usage levels up to:
	25.0000 % in the fragrance concentrate.
use level in formulae for use in cosmetics:
	0.0200 %
Dermal Systemic Exposure in Cosmetic Products:
	0.0005 mg/kg/day
Maximised Survey-derived Daily Intakes (MSDI-EU):		0.012 (μg/capita/day)
Modified Theoretical Added Maximum Daily Intake (mTAMDI):		3900 (μg/person/day)
Threshold of Concern:		1800 (μg/person/day)
Structure Class:		I
Food categories according to Commission Regulation EC No. 1565/2000 (EC, 2000) in FGE.06 (EFSA, 2002a). According to the Industry the "normal" use is defined as the average of reported usages and "maximum use" is defined as the 95th percentile of reported usages (EFSA, 2002i).
Note: mg/kg = 0.001/1000 = 0.000001 = 1/1000000 = ppm.
		average usage mg/kg	maximum usage mg/kg
Dairy products, excluding products of category 02.0 (01.0):		7.00000	35.00000
Fats and oils, and fat emulsions (type water-in-oil) (02.0):		5.00000	25.00000
Edible ices, including sherbet and sorbet (03.0):		10.00000	50.00000
Processed fruit (04.1):		7.00000	35.00000
Processed vegetables (incl. mushrooms & fungi, roots & tubers, pulses and legumes), and nuts & seeds (04.2):		-	-
Confectionery (05.0):		10.00000	50.00000
Chewing gum (05.3):		-	-
Cereals and cereal products, incl. flours & starches from roots & tubers, pulses & legumes, excluding bakery (06.0):		5.00000	25.00000
Bakery wares (07.0):		10.00000	50.00000
Meat and meat products, including poultry and game (08.0):		2.00000	10.00000
Fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms (MCE) (09.0):		2.00000	10.00000
Eggs and egg products (10.0):		-	-
Sweeteners, including honey (11.0):		-	-
Salts, spices, soups, sauces, salads, protein products, etc. (12.0):		5.00000	25.00000
Foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses (13.0):		10.00000	50.00000
Non-alcoholic ("soft") beverages, excl. dairy products (14.1):		5.00000	25.00000
Alcoholic beverages, incl. alcohol-free and low-alcoholic counterparts (14.2):		10.00000	50.00000
Ready-to-eat savouries (15.0):		20.00000	100.00000
Composite foods (e.g. casseroles, meat pies, mincemeat) - foods that could not be placed in categories 01.0 - 15.0 (16.0):		5.00000	25.00000

Safety references

European Food Safety Athority(EFSA):Flavor usage levels; Subacute, Subchronic, Chronic and Carcinogenicity Studies; Developmental / Reproductive Toxicity Studies; Genotoxicity Studies...

European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reference(s):

Opinion of the Scientific Panel on food additives, flavourings, processing aids and materials in contact with food (AFC) related to Flavouring Group Evaluation 18 (FGE.18): Aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic saturated and unsaturated tertiary alcohols, aromatic tertiary alcohols and their esters from chemical group 6 View page or View pdf

Flavouring Group Evaluation 18, Revision 1 (FGE. 18 Rev1)[1] : Aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic saturated and unsaturated tertiary alcohols, aromatic tertiary alcohols and their esters from chemical groups 6 and 8 View page or View pdf

Scientific Opinion on Flavouring Group Evaluation 90 (FGE.90): Consideration of Aliphatic, acyclic and alicyclic terpenoid tertiary alcohols and structurally related substances evaluated by JECFA (68th meeting)FGE.18Rev1 (2009) View page or View pdf

Scientific Opinion on Flavouring Group Evaluation 18, Revision 2 (FGE.18Rev2): Aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic saturated and unsaturated tertiary alcohols, aromatic tertiary alcohols and their esters from chemical groups 6 and 8. View page or View pdf

Scientific Opinion on Flavouring Group Evaluation 18, Revision 3 (FGE.18Rev3): Aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic saturated and unsaturated tertiary alcohols, aromatic tertiary alcohols and their esters from chemical groups 6 and 8. View page or View pdf

EPI System: View

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Toxicology Citations:Search

EPA Substance Registry Services (TSCA):5986-38-9

EPA ACToR:Toxicology Data

EPA Substance Registry Services (SRS):Registry

Laboratory Chemical Safety Summary :5368785

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases:Data

(5E)-2,6-dimethylocta-5,7-dien-2-ol

Chemidplus:0005986389