Dihydrocoumarin

What Dihydrocoumarin smells like

Dihydrocoumarin is sweet and tonka-like, with more coconut, herbal and balsamic character than coumarin. The Good Scents Company lists sweet, tonka, coumarinic, coconut, herbal, cinnamon and balsamic; a supplier describes a creamy tonka-hay effect with a sweet almond-milk character that smooths florals and adds comfort to gourmand and woody bases. Where coumarin reads as direct almond-hay, dihydrocoumarin adds a creamy, coconut-like sweetness.

Leading note

Creamy tonka

Supporting facets

Coconut, herbal, almond milk

Faint facets

Cinnamon, balsamic

Character

Soft, creamy, sweet

• sweet
• tonka
• herbal
• caramellic

What makes Dihydrocoumarin distinctive

Coumarin softened with cream: tonka-hay with coconut and almond milk, less powdery and less sharp.

How Dihydrocoumarin is used

Used to smooth florals and to add comfort to gourmand, tonka and woody bases, and in flavours.

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

How Dihydrocoumarin differs from similar materials

Coumarin*

Coumarin is the cleaner, more direct hay and almond; dihydrocoumarin is creamier, with coconut and herbal notes. (compared directly by a cited source)

Octahydrocoumarin

Octahydrocoumarin is the fully saturated, more stable tonka-coconut lactone; dihydrocoumarin is creamier, with almond milk.

An asterisk marks a difference that a cited source states directly. The others compare the published descriptions of each material. Smell varies with grade, supplier and dilution; compare them side by side on blotters before substituting one for another.

Formulation considerations

Covered by an IFRA Standard; check the limit for your product category.

Identity and classification

Type

Aroma chemical

Origin

Occurs in nature

Odour family

Gourmand / Powdery

Note position

Heart to base note

Physical form at room temperature

Solid. Melts at about 25 °C, so it is often an oily, pale yellow liquid in a warm room (PubChem: NTP, HSDB).

Also known as

3,4-Dihydrocoumarin, Hydrocoumarin

CAS number

119-84-6

Molecular formula

C9H8O2

Molecular weight

148.16 g/mol

IUPAC name

3,4-dihydrochromen-2-one

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 660, whose own record lists this CAS number; checked 19 October 2026.

Safety and compliance

The IFRA Standards Library lists a Standard covering Dihydrocoumarin:

• "Dihydrocoumarin" — Restriction, 51st Amendment, published 2023-06

Limits differ by product category and are set out in the Standard itself; this page does not reproduce them. The list above reflects the library as read on 19 October 2026.

Hazard classification of the neat substance, as PubChem summarises it, read 26 October 2026. Companies notifying the ECHA C&L Inventory classify it (1,702 reports): H317 may cause an allergic skin reaction (97.4% of reports). A skin sensitiser classification concerns handling the neat material and the dose in a finished product; the IFRA Standards, where they apply, set the limits. 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

• Coumarin

  Aroma chemical · Powdery / Fougère — hay, sweet, almond, tobacco

• Tonka Bean Absolute

  Absolute · Gourmand / Powdery — coumarinic, hay, almond, sweet

• Vanillin

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

• Lavender Oil

  Essential oil · Aromatic / Floral — lavender, herbal, floral, fresh

Used in formulas and accords

Not currently used in any published formula.

The Formula & Accord Library lists Dihydrocoumarin here as soon as a published formula, accord or base uses it.

Further reading

• Coumarin in Perfumery: Tonka, Fougère and Restrictions

  Coumarin's smell and roles, its natural sources such as tonka bean, why it is restricted and declared, and handling it as a crystalline solid.

• 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 Dihydrocoumarin

Sources

• PubChem — compound 660, checked 19 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• IFRA — Standards Library, read 19 October 2026.
• The Good Scents Company — coumarinic odour category (dihydrocoumarin) — odour database.
• MySkinRecipes — Dihydrocoumarin — distributor's description.
• 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.