Ambroxan: the amber molecule that replaced ambergris

Where does Ambroxan come from?

Ambroxan is a brand name: the molecule is ambroxide, a terpenoid and one of the key constituents behind the smell of ambergris, where it forms as ambrein oxidises, according to Wikipedia's article on ambroxide. It is also sold as Ambrox or Amberlyn.

Ambroxide came out of the Geneva-based house Firmenich, which launched a large research programme on ambergris. Stoll and his co-workers identified it in the 1940s as the most important constituent of natural ambergris and later published its first synthesis, a 1950 paper, as a 2016 study in Scientific Reports recalls. Industry makes it from sclareol, a component of clary sage oil.

What does Ambroxan smell like?

Ambroxan smells dry and woody, with musky and slightly salty nuances. The IFRA Fragrance Ingredient Glossary files it under amber, with woody and herbal facets. Wikipedia lists further descriptors such as sweet, labdanum, pine and cedar. Do not expect a perfect copy of ambergris, though: Wikipedia's perfume article warns that the two do not smell the same.

What does Ambroxan do in a perfume?

Ambroxan is highly tenacious. It clings to skin, fabric and hard surfaces and lingers for hours, which is why fine fragrance uses it both as a base note and as a fixative, either as a featured note or as a behind-the-scenes booster. Its profile puts it close to labdanum and musk in the amber family.

What else should you know about Ambroxan?

• A newer process starts from homofarnesol instead of sclareol and is said to need a hundred times less farmland than the clary sage route.
• Ambroxide also occurs in traces in tobacco, clary sage and cistus.
• The Class on natural versus synthetic shows what chemistry added to the palette, and the one on animal notes and their substitutes explains why ambergris stepped aside.