Methyl cinnamate

Other comments :

Methyl Cinnamate is one of the most powerful cinnamic esters. It is much more powerful than Benzyl Cinnamate for example.

Stability :

Molecule encountering some great solubilization difficulties. May form cinnamic acid through time.
Tends to get a yellow color through time.

Uses in perfumery :

Methyl Cinnamate is used mainly to create oriental accords (vanilla, balsams, leather) or floral notes such as rose, carnation or hyacinth.

Year of discovery :

Data not available.

Isomerism :

The double bond of Methyl Cinnamate gives rise to two possible diastereoisomers. Both have a relatively similar smell. The racemic mixture of the two isomers is generally used in perfumery.

Synthesis precursor :

Methyl Cinnamate is not a precursor to the synthesis of another compound of olfactory interest.

Natural availability :

Methyl Cinnamate is present in various plants, starting with plants of the genus Alpinia, from the zingibiraceae family (same family as ginger), of which it can represent up to 80% of the composition of the essential oil. It is also present at more than 50% in the essential oil of Ocimum canum, a plant of the lamiaceae family, looking like clary sage. Methyl Cinnamate can therefore be extracted from these raw materials.

Synthesis route :

Methyl Cinnamate can be synthesized in two ways. The first is a conventional acidic esterification between Cinnamic Acid and methanol. The second is a Claisen condensation, that consists in reacting Benzaldehyde with Methyl acetate in the presence of sodium.