Isomenthone

What Isomenthone smells like

JECFA, as published by PubChem, describes isomenthone as a colourless, slightly oily liquid with a peppermint odour. Parchem's specification for the racemic material gives a mentholic, cooling, minty and camphoraceous odour with a refreshing, ethereal lift.

Leading note

Peppermint

Character

Cool

• minty
• peppermint

What makes Isomenthone distinctive

The peppermint odour of menthone's isomer, as JECFA gives it.

How Isomenthone is used

Used in mint and herbal accords and in geranium and rose reconstitutions.

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

How Isomenthone differs from similar materials

Peppermint Oil

Peppermint oil is a whole oil, menthol's chill over a sweet herbal body; isomenthone is a single minty ketone, peppermint-like with a camphoraceous lift.

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.

Formulation considerations

A stereoisomer of menthone and a different molecule from it; the two are not interchangeable.

Identity and classification

Type

Aroma chemical

Origin

Occurs in nature

Odour family

Aromatic / Green

Note position

Top note

Physical form at room temperature

Liquid

Also known as

p-Menthan-3-one, cis

CAS number

491-07-6

Molecular formula

C10H18O

Molecular weight

154.25 g/mol

IUPAC name

cis-(2S,5S)-5-methyl-2-propan-2-ylcyclohexan-1-one

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 6432469, 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 (1,631 reports): H315 causes skin irritation (88.8% of reports); H317 may cause an allergic skin reaction (88.8% of reports). 87 of the reports find it does not meet the hazard criteria. 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

• Menthone

  Aroma chemical · Aromatic / Green — minty, fresh, herbal, cooling

• l-Menthol

  Aroma chemical · Aromatic / Green — minty, cooling, fresh

• Geranium Oil

  Essential oil · Floral / Green — rosy, green, minty, fresh

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 1 published formula

Isomenthone is an ingredient in 1 perfume formula in the Formula & Accord Library.

• Hindi Maliki Qadeem

  Community Formula · listed as “Iso Menthone”

Further reading

• Aromatic Notes in Perfumery: Lavender, Sage, Rosemary and Mint

  The aromatic family for formulators: lavender, lavandin and spike, clary sage, rosemary, mint and basil — chemistry, chemotypes and EU allergen status.

Questions about Isomenthone

Sources

• PubChem — compound 6432469, checked 24 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• PubChem — isomenthone (JECFA description) (CID 6432469) — odour database.
• Parchem — (±)-isomenthone specification — 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.