Pheromones farnesol

Sesquiterpenic alcohols Examples of sesquiterpenic alicyclic alcohols (8-24) are farnesol and nerolidol (also known as peruviol). Both alcohols, smelling of flowers, are components of many essential oils used in perfumery. Of the four possible geometric isomers, the (2 ,6B)-isomer of farnesol, is the most common in nature and occurs, for example, in basil oil and ambrette (Abelmoschus moschatus Malvaceae) seed oil. The (2Z,6 )-isomer occurs in the petit grain oil bigarade, which is derived from the bitter orange tree leaves (Citrus aurantiumvai. amara, Rutaceae). Farnesol is a natural pesticide for mites and a pheromone for several species of insects. Nerolidol with a double bond at C-6 occurs in the form of (Z)- and ( )-isomers, each of which can exist as an enantiomeric pair (chiral carbon C-3). The individual enantiomers and their mixtures are found in many essential oils. For example, the essential oil known as cabreuva oil that is used in perfumery is obtained from the bark of the South American tree Myrocarpus frondosus (Fabaceae) and contains the (-F)-(E)-isomer of nerolidol (3S,6 )-nerolidol. 

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