In short
Artichoke absolute is a solvent extract of the globe artichoke, Cynara scolymus, with a bitter, green, vegetal opening. It is a niche material used mainly in culinary and green compositions.
What Artichoke Absolute smells like
The Good Scents Company describes artichoke absolute as having a very unique opening with a bitter vegetative note. Hermitage Oils sells an Egyptian artichoke absolute aimed at perfumers, mainly for culinary-style perfumes, and its description and reviewers report a bitter green opening attributed to cynaropicrin with meaty, earthy and slightly sweet facets, though the reviewers disagree about the bitterness.
- Leading note
- Bitter green
- Clear facets
- Vegetal
- Supporting facets
- Earthy
- Character
- Bitter, unusual
What makes Artichoke Absolute distinctive
A bitter, vegetable-green opening unlike leafy green materials.
Where the descriptions disagree: Reviewers disagree about how bitter it is; listings give two CAS numbers.
How Artichoke Absolute is used
Used in traces for vegetal, culinary and unusual green effects.
Typical role: modifier (used in small amounts to change the character of a blend).
Formulation considerations
A niche natural with little published data. Sources disagree on its CAS number; check the supplier's documents and SDS. Listings give 93165-00-5 for the absolute and 84012-14-6, a leaf-extract number, elsewhere, so no number is given here.
Identity and classification
- Type
- Absolute
- Origin
- Natural
- Odour family
- Green / Gourmand
- Note position
- Heart note
- Physical form at room temperature
- Viscous liquid
- Botanical source
- Cynara scolymus
No CAS number is shown: suppliers use different identifiers for this material, and none could be confirmed as its own.
Safety and compliance
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
-
Galbanum Oil
Essential oil · Green / Resinous — green, sharp, bitter, resinous
-
cis-3-Hexenol
Aroma chemical · Green / Fruity — green, cut grass, leafy, fresh
Used in formulas and accords
Not currently used in any published formula.
The Formula & Accord Library lists Artichoke Absolute here as soon as a published formula, accord or base uses it.
Further reading
Questions about Artichoke Absolute
Is Artichoke Absolute natural or synthetic?
Artichoke Absolute is natural. It is a concentrated extract obtained from plant material with a solvent, then washed with ethanol to remove the waxes.
Sources
- The Good Scents Company — artichoke absolute — odour database.
- Hermitage Oils — Artichoke Absolute — distributor's description.
- Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 4 November 2026. Evidence: few published descriptions; treat the detail with caution. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.