Cryptocarya massoy (Oken) Kosterm. - syn. Cryptocarya aromatica (Becc.) Kosterm.; Cinnamomum massoy Oken; Massoia aromatica Becc. - Lauraceae
massoia tree, Massoia Baum
Endemic tree, up to 15-30m high, native to the island of New Guinea, optimal growth in rainforests between 400 m and 1000 m altitude. The aromatic bark from the tree has been an article of commerce for centuries, now as the source of massoia oil used in aromatherapy. Bark greenish or light grey; leaves opposite, ovate, with tapered leaf tips; flowers with six elliptical-shaped petals, greenish-yellow; fruits one-seeded, globular with a slight bulge on one side, young fruit green while the ripe fruit is black.
[Bosoren, M. B. „Overview: Massoi: Cryptocarya massoia (Oken) Kosterm.“ GIZ, FORCLIME: Jakarta, Indonesia (2020)]
Overview: Massoi Cryptocarya Massoia Kosterm (PDF)
Main component of massoia bark (oil CAS 977103-80-2 / extract CAS 85085-26-3) is C-10 massoia lactone = (R)-5,6-dihydro-6-pentyl-2H-pyran-2-one (natural isomer) with a sweet lactonic, herbaceous odor and a creamy, coconut, milky taste.
[Burdock, George A. Fenaroli's handbook of flavor ingredients. CRC press, 2001, 812-813 and 1005-1006]
„…the Massoia tree well-known for its fragrant bark, reminescent of coconut and biscuit… also used to produce the commercial Massoia oil applied in smaller amounts in aromatherapy and also as a flavoring material. Of special importance for the odors both of fresh bark and the essential oil are the two main components dec-2-en-5-olide (so-called 'Massoia lactone') and dodec-2-en-5-olide.“
[Meaningful Scents around the World, Roman Kaiser, Zürich 2006, 77-78]
„Exhaustive hydro-distillation of the bark, heartwood and fruits of Cryptocarya massoy (Lauraceae) afforded pale yellow-coloured oils in 0.7, 1.2 and 1.0 % yields, respectively. Detailed chemical evaluation of these distillates using GC/MS revealed the major components in the bark and the heartwood oils to be the C-10 (5,6-dihydro-6-pentyl-2H-pyran-2-one; bark 64%, heartwood 68%) and C-12 (5,6-dihydro-6-heptyl-2H-pyran-2-one; bark 17%, heartwood 27%) massoia lactones, while the major fruit oil constituent was benzyl benzoate (68.3 %). The heartwood also contained trace amounts of the C-14 (5,6-dihydro-6-nonyl-2H-pyran-2-one) massoia lactone (1.4 %) and the saturated C-10 derivative δ-decalactone (2.5 %).“
Other components of the fruit oil are β-caryophyllene (12%), caryophyllene oxide (2%), α-copaene (2%), α-humulene (2%) e.g.
[Comparative Chemical Analysis of the Essential Oil Constituents in the Bark, Heartwood and Fruits of Cryptocarya massoy (Oken) Kosterm. (Lauraceae) from Papua New Guinea. Topul Rali, Stewart W. Wossa, David N. Leach, Molecules, 2007, 12, 149-154]
http://epubs.scu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=cpp_pubs
The quality description of a commercial CO2 extract of 100% natural material demands > 45% C10, 20-50% C12, < 1% C14 massoia lactone and < 8% benzyl benzoate (GC-MS; used as coconut flavor: 0.005-0.05%).
[Massoiarinden CO2-se Extrakt Typ Nr. 029.00, Flavex Corp. 2014] http://www.flavex.com/fileadmin/flavex.de/user_upload/Spezifikation/Deutsch/Spezi_Massoiarinden_CO2-se_Extrakt_029_001.pdf