HELIOTROPIN 50%DPG – sweet, powdery and almondy note with hints of vanilla, almond and soft flowers

It occurs naturally in Bourbon vanilla.
White or colorless crystals.
Soluble in cold water up to 0.2%, slightly better in hot water. Soluble in alcohol and oils, slightly soluble in propylene glycol. Insoluble in glycerin. Evaporates with steam.
Very sweet, floral, warm, slightly spicy and persistent aroma, sometimes described as "cherry".
Sweet, spicy-floral flavour, with considerable intensity.
The "spicy" notes should not be reminiscent of safrole, but rather suggest a warm, almost herbaceous-fruity note, similar to that found in benzaldehyde, anisic aldehyde, anisolacetate, etc. The floral note of gheliotropine is very sensitive to the presence of impurities similar to safrole.
The taste is slightly bitter at concentrations above 50 parts per million.
Heliotropin is widely used in perfumery compositions, from the most expensive to those for home fragrances and industrial perfumery products. Concentrations can range from less than 1% to over 10%, but the floral effect is usually achieved with the use of a couple of percentages. The presence of heliotropin at lower concentrations is usually revealed by the "evaporation" of the perfume on a blotter, while at higher concentrations, heliotropin can be clearly perceived even in the upper part of the perfume. Although it is primarily a floral ingredient, it combines very well with many non-floral substances such as coumarins, eugenols, nitromusks, cedar derivatives, etc.
This scent is absolutely necessary in jasmine and sweet pea fragrances, and is often used in lily of the valley, honeysuckle, frangipani, carnation, mimosa, etc.
Contrary to previous beliefs and repeated claims, gheliotropin is not necessarily present in scented soaps. High-quality recrystallized gheliotropin today is virtually free of impurities, which are commonly believed to be the primary cause of soap discoloration, either directly or indirectly (perhaps catalytically). Furthermore, soap quality today is at a level that causes fewer problems with alkali, foreign metals, and other chemically active substances. Therefore, discoloration problems with soap fragrances containing gheliotropin rarely occur due to gheliotropin alone, but can be aggravated by other perfumery ingredients, with or without gheliotropin.
However, gheliotropin is very sensitive to certain amines, such as indole. Vapors escaping from a container containing indole can penetrate the walls of a gheliotropin container and turn its contents pink. Such contamination can occur over considerable distances, and this must be taken into account when storing these materials. Modern polyester fiber bags do not protect against such damage.
Heliotropin is widely used in food flavoring compositions, although its strength as a flavoring is often underestimated, and its concentration should be kept at a minimum level to achieve truly pleasant, "non-perfumery" effects.
The most interesting effect of gheliotropin as a food flavoring is probably the fact that it is a synergist with vanillin, but not quite as much as coumarin. This gives a significant "undertone" to the vanilla-like scent, but the amount of gheliotropin to vanillin/ethylvanillin ratio must be very low.
Another interesting effect of gheliotropin is that it gives fruity complexes or a cherry-imitating scent the "cherry stone" effect.
This pleasant difference from the strong benzaldehyde traditionally used in American cherry flavoring lends a richness to the imitated scent, which can contain many volatile esters. It pairs beautifully with aniseed and its esters, vanilla, peach, and plum, as well as various cherry nuances.
It is also used to make strawberry, cola, rum, maple, walnut and "Tutti-frutti" flavors.
The concentration typically used in the finished product ranges from 5 to 20 parts per million, with the exception of chewing gum, which can reach 40 parts per million.
Heliotropin is used in notes of carnation, mimosa, tuberose, frangipani, amber, and fujière. It is stable in soap bases, but may be responsible for coloration in cosmetic products. It is gradually being replaced with Heliotropex, as imports are regulated above certain quantities.
Compared to vanilla, it has a note of anise and almond.
It is excellent when blended with coumarin and vanilla and adds a wonderful, sweet nuance to perfumes. It has a delicate aniseed quality and mixes very well with aniseed, as demonstrated by Jean Carles in his perfume Canoe (1936) for Jean Patou.