Prenyl Mercaptan

What Prenyl Mercaptan smells like

The Good Scents Company describes prenyl mercaptan as sulphurous, with intense leek, onion-like and skunky notes. A supplier reports an extremely low odour threshold and notes that the free thiol oxidises readily to the disulfide. PubChem links it to natural-product and yeast-metabolome databases.

Leading note

Skunky

Clear facets

Leek

Supporting facets

Onion

Character

Sulphurous, potent

• sulphurous
• skunky
• onion
• leek

What makes Prenyl Mercaptan distinctive

The skunk note itself, effective at traces.

How Prenyl Mercaptan is used

Used at trace dilutions for cannabis, coffee and blackcurrant effects.

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

How Prenyl Mercaptan differs from similar materials

Difurfuryl Disulfide

Difurfuryl disulfide is the roasted-coffee, meaty sulphur; prenyl mercaptan is raw, skunky and alliaceous.

Dimethyl Sulfide

Dimethyl sulfide is the cabbage-and-radish sulphur; prenyl mercaptan is skunkier and more alliaceous.

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

Extremely potent and prone to oxidise; handle as a high dilution.

Identity and classification

Type

Aroma chemical

Origin

Occurs in nature

Odour family

Green

Note position

Top note

Physical form at room temperature

Liquid

Also known as

3-Methyl-2-butene-1-thiol

CAS number

5287-45-6

Molecular formula

C5H10S

Molecular weight

102.2 g/mol

IUPAC name

3-methylbut-2-ene-1-thiol

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 146586, 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 (160 reports): H226 flammable liquid and vapor (100% of reports); H315 causes skin irritation (75% of reports); H319 causes serious eye irritation (75% of reports); H335 may cause respiratory irritation (75% of reports); H302 harmful if swallowed (26.2% of 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

• Grapefruit Mercaptan

  Aroma chemical · Citrus / Fruity — grapefruit, sulfurous, juicy, tropical

• 8-Mercapto-p-menthan-3-one

  Aroma chemical · Fruity / Green — blackcurrant, buchu, sulfurous, fruity

• Dimethyl Sulfide

  Aroma chemical · Green — cabbage, radish, sulphurous

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 1 published formula

Prenyl Mercaptan is an ingredient in 1 base in the Formula & Accord Library.

• Cannabis Base

  Community Formula · Base · listed as “Prenyl Mercaptan 0.001%”, at 0.001%

Further reading

• Green Notes in Perfumery: Leaf, Galbanum and Violet Leaf

  The green palette — cis-3-hexenol, galbanum, violet leaf, styrallyl acetate — what green notes do, dosage, restrictions and pairings.

Questions about Prenyl Mercaptan

Sources

• PubChem — compound 146586, checked 24 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• The Good Scents Company — prenyl mercaptan — odour database.
• Smolecule — prenyl mercaptan — 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.