Geranyl Isovalerate

What Geranyl Isovalerate smells like

JECFA, as published by PubChem, describes geranyl isovalerate as a colourless to pale yellow liquid with a rose odour. PubChem links it to natural-product databases. Sigma-Aldrich's food-grade listing describes it differently, as apple, blueberry, green, fruity and pineapple.

Leading note

Rose

• rose
• floral

What makes Geranyl Isovalerate distinctive

A heavier geranyl ester whose published description is simply rose.

Where the descriptions disagree: JECFA gives a rose odour, while Sigma-Aldrich's listing is wholly fruity — apple, blueberry and pineapple — with no rose.

How Geranyl Isovalerate is used

JECFA evaluates it as a flavouring agent, and Sigma-Aldrich sells a food-grade grade with a fruity profile. In perfumery it softens rose and fruity-floral accords, where its rose (in JECFA's description) and apple-pineapple fruitiness (in Sigma-Aldrich's) both play.

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

How Geranyl Isovalerate differs from similar materials

Geranyl Butyrate

Geranyl butyrate is described as fruity and rose-like; geranyl isovalerate simply as rose.

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

Floral / Fruity

Note position

Heart note

Physical form at room temperature

Liquid

Also known as

Geranyl 3-methylbutanoate

CAS number

109-20-6

Molecular formula

C15H26O2

Molecular weight

238.37 g/mol

IUPAC name

[(2E)-3,7-dimethylocta-2,6-dienyl] 3-methylbutanoate

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 5362830, 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 (308 of 308 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

• Geraniol

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Citrus — rosy, sweet, citrus, fresh

• Geranyl Acetate

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Fruity — fruity, rosy, pear, fresh

• Phenylethyl Alcohol

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Green — rose, honeyed, soft, floral

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 1 published formula

Geranyl Isovalerate is an ingredient in 1 accord in the Formula & Accord Library.

• Pineapple Accord

  Community Formula · Accord

Further reading

• Perfume Materials by Odor Family: A Formulator's Palette Map

  Which materials build each odor family — citrus, floral, woody, amber, musk and more — their usual roles, what to watch for, and links to each in depth.

Questions about Geranyl Isovalerate

Sources

• PubChem — compound 5362830, checked 24 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• PubChem — Geranyl isovalerate (CID 5362830): JECFA organoleptic description — odour database.
• Sigma-Aldrich — geranyl isovalerate (W251801) — manufacturer'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.