Natural Raw Materials in the Flavor and Fragrance Industry

Currently, raw materials for the flavor and fragrance industry are obtained from more than 250 different plant species, but only a handful of products originate 

Raw materials are isolated from various parts of plants, e.g., blossoms, buds, fruit, peel, seeds, leaves, bark, wood, roots, or from resinous exudates. Different parts of the same plant may yield products with different compositions. For instance, steam distillation of the bark of the cinnamon tree gives cinnamon bark oil, which contains mainly cinnamaldehyde, whereas cinnamon leaf oil obtained from the leaves of the tree contains eugenol as its major constituent. 

The quality of natural products depends considerably on their geographic origin, even if they are isolated from the same plant species. This may be partly due to variations in cultivation conditions, such as soil structure and climate, but also results from the fact that different varieties of the same plant species are cultivated in different areas. Thus, more than 500 natural raw materials are available for the creation of perfumes and flavors. 

The flavor and fragrance industry has expanded so much that the plants required to supply the raw materials are now grown on a very large scale. Examples are the peppermint and spearmint plantations in the United States, the lavandin plantations in southern France and the cornmint plantations in China and India. 

The economic importance of the cultivation of aromatic plants has led to the systematic breeding of new varieties, which are obtained either by alternation of 

Although synthetic flavor and fragrance materials are produced on industrial scales, naturally occurring raw materials continue to be essential, important ingredients in the manufacture of flavor and fragrance compositions for several reasons. First, the compositions and sensory natures of natural products are often too complex to be reproduced by combinations of synthetic fragrance substances. Second, the characteristic flavor and fragrance substances of a particular product often cannot be synthesized at a competitive price. Third, the use of natural materials in the production of certain flavor compositions is compulsory. Moreover, a continous demand for perfumes based on natural materials is still observed. 

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K. Bauer, D. Garhe, and H. Surhurg, Natural raw materials in the flavor and fragrance industry, in Common Fragrance and Flavor Materials, K. Bauer, D. Garhe, and H. Surherg, eds., VCH Puhhshers, New York, 1990, pp. 146-147. 

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