gamma-Hexalactone

What gamma-Hexalactone smells like

JECFA, as published by PubChem, describes gamma-hexalactone as a colourless to pale yellow liquid with a herbaceous, sweet odour. PubChem links it to natural-product databases. Fraterworks describes a sweet, creamy, lactonic foundation with a prominent coumarin-tonka character, herbaceous hay and green coconut facets, a delicate cresylic nuance and a warm, tobacco-like finish.

Leading note

Sweet herbaceous

• herbaceous
• sweet

What makes gamma-Hexalactone distinctive

Smaller than the coconut and peach lactones, and herbaceous rather than creamy.

Concentration and dilution

Fraterworks lists 10% and 1% as common dilutions.

How gamma-Hexalactone is used

Fraterworks presents it as a creamy modifier for gourmand accords, a coumarin alternative and a nuancer for vanilla-tobacco compositions.

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

How gamma-Hexalactone differs from similar materials

gamma-Octalactone

gamma-Octalactone is coconut and creamy; gamma-hexalactone, two carbons shorter, is described as herbaceous and sweet.

gamma-Heptalactone

gamma-Heptalactone, one carbon longer, is coconut, malty and caramel rather than herbaceous.

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 / Aromatic

Note position

Heart note

Physical form at room temperature

Liquid

Also known as

Hexalactone gamma, 5-Ethyloxolan-2-one

CAS number

695-06-7

Molecular formula

C6H10O2

Molecular weight

114.14 g/mol

IUPAC name

5-ethyloxolan-2-one

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 12756, 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 report it as not meeting the GHS hazard criteria (1,637 of 1,731 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

• gamma-Octalactone

  Aroma chemical · Gourmand / Fruity — coconut, creamy, sweet, herbal

• Coumarin

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

• gamma-Heptalactone

  Aroma chemical · Gourmand / Fruity — coconut, sweet, malty, caramel

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 1 published formula

gamma-Hexalactone is an ingredient in 1 accord in the Formula & Accord Library.

• Chocolate Accord

  Community Formula · Accord · listed as “HEXALACTONE GAMMA”

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 gamma-Hexalactone

Sources

• PubChem — compound 12756, checked 24 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• PubChem — gamma-Hexalactone (CID 12756): JECFA organoleptic description — odour database.
• Fraterworks — gamma-Hexalactone — 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.