Tinkturenpresse

Leptactina senegambica Hook.f. - Rubiaceae - karo-karoundé, karo karounde

Shrub, native to West Africa (Guinea, Sierra Leone, Mali); flowers white, scented. The scent has been described as somewhat similar to jasmine, but woodier, spicier and more herbal. The absolute is used in perfumery for white flower notes and heavy floral blends.

The concrete of the flowers contained benzyl cyanide (phenylacetonitrile; 38%) and isoeugenol.
[Sabetay, S., L. Palfray, and L. Trabaud. „Sur la présence de cyanure de benzyle dans l'essence concrète de Karo Karoundé. C, r. hebd.“ Séanc. Acad. Sci., Paris 207 (1938): 540-542]

isoeugenol

2-phenylnitroethane

„Hexane extraction of the flowers of Karo-Karounde (Leptactinia senegambica) harvested in Guinea gave a 0.15% yield of an orange-brown waxy concrete which, upon treatment with ethanol using the conventional method, gave a 60% absolute… Among the major constituents were those which were already known such as benzyl cyanide and isoeugenol which represent 4.75% and 0.45% respectively in the absolute, as determined by capillary GC by the internal standard method (int.standard: n-dodecan). Benzyl cyanide was thus the major volatile constituent of the absolute.“
Among the >200 other components were e.g. estragole, anethole, benzyl alcohol, phenylethanol, linalool, α-terpineol, lilac alcohols (3 isomers), acetophenone, several aliphatic aldehydes (hexanal, octanal, nonanal) and aromatic aldehydes (benzaldehyde, phenylacetaldehyde, lilac aldehydes, anisaldehyde, vanillin, cinnamal), Z-jasmone, α-ionone, β-ionone, several phenolic compounds like eugenol and ioseugenol, and many esters including cyclic ones like γ-nonalactone and δ-decalactone. 2-Phenylnitroethane was present at 2.55% (GC) or 1.1% (int.standard method) in the absolute.
[Joulain, D., and R. Laurent. „The absolute from Karo-Karounde flowers.“ (1988): 607-625]