Methyl Anisate

What Methyl Anisate smells like

Methyl anisate (methyl p-anisate) has a herbaceous, anise-like, sweet odour; its taste is sweet, like melon. A flavour-industry evaluation at 10% gives sweet, creamy, anisic, vanilla-like, slightly spicy, woody and powdery, with a heliotropin-like character. Wikipedia likens its odour to the flowery smell of feijoa fruit.

Leading note

Sweet herbaceous anise

Supporting facets

Creamy vanilla, powdery, heliotropin-like

Faint facets

Flowery, feijoa-like

Character

Sweet, soft, creamy

• sweet
• floral
• anisic
• fruity

What makes Methyl Anisate distinctive

A creamy, powdery anise — gentler and more vanilla-heliotrope than anethole's licorice.

How Methyl Anisate is used

Used in anisic, heliotrope and sweet floral compositions, and in flavours.

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

How Methyl Anisate differs from similar materials

Heliotropin*

A flavour evaluation describes methyl anisate as heliotropin-like; heliotropin is more almond and cherry, methyl anisate more herbaceous anise. (compared directly by a cited source)

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

A solid; dissolve before use.

Identity and classification

Type

Aroma chemical

Origin

Occurs in nature

Odour family

Floral / Fruity

Note position

Heart note

Physical form at room temperature

Solid

Also known as

Methyl 4-methoxybenzoate

CAS number

121-98-2

Molecular formula

C9H10O3

Molecular weight

166.17 g/mol

IUPAC name

methyl 4-methoxybenzoate

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 8499, whose own record lists this CAS number; checked 19 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 (170 of 170 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

• Anisaldehyde

  Aroma chemical · Powdery / Floral — anisic, hawthorn, floral, sweet

• Anisyl Acetate

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Fruity — sweet, fruity, anisic, lilac

• Heliotropin

  Aroma chemical · Powdery / Gourmand — powdery, almond, vanilla, floral

• Acetophenone

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Fruity — sweet, almond, hawthorn, pungent

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 1 published formula

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

RUŌOD House Originals

Original compositions by RUŌOD House.

• Anise Ink

  RUŌOD House Creation

Further reading

• Powdery Notes in Perfumery: Iris, Orris and Ionones

  Orris and the ionones at the heart of powdery perfume, the rest of the powdery palette, how to build violet, iris and face-powder accords, and handling.

• 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 Methyl Anisate

Sources

• PubChem — compound 8499, checked 19 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• Wikipedia — Methyl anisate — published perfumery reference.
• ChemicalBook — methyl anisate (CAS 121-98-2) — odour database.
• Parchem — methyl para-anisate specification — distributor's description.
• Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 20 October 2026. Evidence: more than one published description. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.