2-Ethylpyrazine

What 2-Ethylpyrazine smells like

JECFA describes 2-ethylpyrazine as a colourless to pale yellow liquid with a musty, nutty, peanut-butter odour. Sigma-Aldrich's food-grade listing gives cocoa, musty, nutty, woody and roasted, and Perflavory lists a supplier's musty, nutty, buttery, peanut.

Leading note

Peanut butter

Supporting facets

Musty

Character

Musty

• nutty
• peanut
• musty

What makes 2-Ethylpyrazine distinctive

Peanut-butter nuttiness with a musty edge, rather than the popcorn note of acetylpyrazine.

How 2-Ethylpyrazine is used

Its documented use is in flavours: JECFA evaluates it as a flavouring agent, and Sigma-Aldrich notes that it forms mainly in roasted foods such as coffee beans and sesame seeds. In perfumery it is a trace note for the roasted, nutty and cocoa effects of gourmand accords, beside other pyrazines.

Typical role: modifier (used in small amounts to change the character of a blend).

How 2-Ethylpyrazine differs from similar materials

Tetramethylpyrazine

Tetramethylpyrazine is musty and fermented; 2-ethylpyrazine is nuttier, peanut butter and cocoa.

Each difference compares the published descriptions of the two materials. Smell varies with grade, supplier and dilution; compare them side by side on blotters before substituting one for another.

Formulation considerations

Potent and food-like; work from dilution.

Identity and classification

Type

Aroma chemical

Origin

Occurs in nature

Odour family

Gourmand

Note position

Heart note

Physical form at room temperature

Liquid

Also known as

Ethylpyrazine

CAS number

13925-00-3

Molecular formula

C6H8N2

Molecular weight

108.14 g/mol

IUPAC name

2-ethylpyrazine

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 26331, whose own record lists this CAS number; checked 24 October 2026.

Safety and compliance

Hazard classification of the neat substance, as PubChem summarises it, read 26 October 2026. Companies notifying the ECHA C&L Inventory classify it (1,503 reports): H302 harmful if swallowed (88.3% of reports); H226 flammable liquid and vapor (14.4% of reports). Unless it is harmonised, this is the notifiers' own classification, not a binding one.

This page is general information, not a safety assessment or a specification. Confirm identity, composition, IFRA status and allergen content from your supplier's documents for the lot you hold.

Materials it works with

• 2-Acetylpyrazine

  Aroma chemical · Gourmand — popcorn, roasted, nutty, bready

• 2,3,5-Trimethylpyrazine

  Aroma chemical · Gourmand — roasted, nutty, cocoa, earthy

• Vanillin

  Aroma chemical · Gourmand / Amber — vanilla, sweet, creamy

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 4 published formulas

2-Ethylpyrazine is an ingredient in 2 perfume formulas and 2 accords in the Formula & Accord Library.

Community formulas

• Banana Bread

  Community Formula · listed as “2 Ethyl Pyrazine 1%”, at 1%

• Cookies & Cream Accord

  Community Formula · Accord · listed as “2-Ethyl Pyrazine 1%”, at 1%

• Hazelnut Accord

  Community Formula · Accord · listed as “2 Ethyl Pyrazine 1%”, at 1%

RUŌOD House Originals

Original compositions by RUŌOD House.

• Fig Jam Brioche

  RUŌOD House Original · listed as “2-Ethylpyrazine 1% DPG”, at 1% in DPG

Further reading

• Building a Gourmand Accord: Vanilla, Caramel and Beyond

  The materials of gourmand perfume — vanillin, ethyl maltol, coumarin, lactones, roasted notes — how to keep them wearable, and color and crystal problems.

Questions about 2-Ethylpyrazine

Sources

• PubChem — compound 26331, checked 24 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• PubChem — 2-Ethylpyrazine (CID 26331): JECFA organoleptic description — odour database.
• Sigma-Aldrich — 2-ethylpyrazine (W328103) — manufacturer's description.
• Perflavory — 2-ethyl pyrazine — odour database.
• Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 26 October 2026. Evidence: more than one published description. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.