9-Decenoic Acid

What 9-Decenoic Acid smells like

JECFA, as published by PubChem, describes 9-decenoic acid as a colourless to pale yellow liquid with a very waxy, somewhat fruity and milky odour. PubChem links it to natural-product databases. Gerard Mosciano's evaluation (Perfumer & Flavorist, 1993), as The Good Scents Company reproduces it, is waxy, green, fatty and soapy with a slight creamy, cheese-like nuance, and Bedoukian describes a waxy orange note reminiscent of kiwi fruit, fruity and milky, drying down to a clean cucumber-melon note.

Leading note

Waxy

Supporting facets

Milky

Faint facets

Fruity

Character

Fatty

• waxy
• fruity
• milky

What makes 9-Decenoic Acid distinctive

A waxy fatty acid with a milky, dairy side.

How 9-Decenoic Acid is used

Its documented uses are in flavours: JECFA evaluates it as a flavouring agent for dairy and fruit notes. In perfumery it is a trace material for the milky, waxy and fruity effects Mosciano and Bedoukian describe, in dairy, kiwi and gourmand accords.

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

How 9-Decenoic Acid differs from similar materials

Decanoic Acid

Decanoic acid is the fatty, goaty acid; 9-decenoic acid is described as waxy, milky and somewhat fruity.

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.

Identity and classification

Type

Aroma chemical

Origin

Occurs in nature

Odour family

Gourmand / Fruity

Note position

Heart to base note

Physical form at room temperature

Liquid

Also known as

Dec-9-enoic acid

CAS number

14436-32-9

Molecular formula

C10H18O2

Molecular weight

170.25 g/mol

IUPAC name

dec-9-enoic acid

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 61743, 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 (1,445 reports): H315 causes skin irritation (100% 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

• Decanoic Acid

  Aroma chemical · Animalic — rancid, fatty

• delta-Decalactone

  Aroma chemical · Gourmand / Fruity — creamy, milky, coconut, buttery

• gamma-Decalactone

  Aroma chemical · Fruity / Gourmand — peach, fruity, creamy

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 2 published formulas

9-Decenoic Acid is an ingredient in 1 perfume formula and 1 accord in the Formula & Accord Library.

Community formulas

• Paper Accord

  Community Formula · Accord · listed as “9-Decenoic Acid 1%”, at 1%

RUŌOD House Originals

Original compositions by RUŌOD House.

• Champagne Static

  RUŌOD House Original · listed as “9-Decenoic Acid 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 9-Decenoic Acid

Sources

• PubChem — compound 61743, checked 24 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• PubChem — 9-Decenoic acid (CID 61743): JECFA organoleptic description — odour database.
• The Good Scents Company — 9-decenoic acid (with Mosciano's and Bedoukian's descriptions) — 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.