Carvone is an organic compound with a minty-licorice aroma, and is a chief component of caraway, dill, and spearmint essential oils. This ingredient may appear as a component of the essential oil fragrances we use in some of our products.

Carvone comes in two forms known as isomers: D-Carvone, which has a spicy-rye aroma associated with caraway; and L-Carvone, which has a minty-sweet aroma. This ingredient can be produced by fractional distillation of plant oils or other synthetic methods. It can be found in fragrances, cosmetics, soaps and food flavouring, and is reported to possesss antifungal, antibacterial, antioxidant, antimicrobial and insecticidal activities.

Carvone is considered a low hazard to health, however a small percentage of people may be sensitive to this ingredients. The International Fragrance Association (IFRA) consider Carvone to be safe for use in cosmetics, within their defined use and concentration limits.

Other names: C₁₀H₁₄O, Carvol, D-Carvone, L-Carvone

Chemical class: Ketones

REFERENCES

Caterina Morcia, Giorgio Tumino, Roberta Ghizzoni, Valeria Terzi, Chapter 35 - Carvone (Mentha spicata L.) Oils, Editor(s): Victor R. Preedy, Essential Oils in Food Preservation, Flavor and Safety, Academic Press, 2016, Pages 309-316, ISBN 9780124166417, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-416641-7.00035-3.

Rafia Javed, Muhammad Asif Hanif, Rafia Rehman, Maryam Hanif, Bui Thanh Tung, Chapter 7 - Caraway, Editor(s): Muhammad Asif Hanif, Haq Nawaz, Muhammad Mumtaz Khan, Hugh J. Byrne, Medicinal Plants of South Asia, Elsevier, 2020, Pages 87-100, ISBN 9780081026595, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-102659-5.00007-0.

National Center for Biotechnology Information (2021). PubChem Compound Summary for CID 7439, Carvone. Retrieved September 18, 2021 from https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Carvone.

International Fragrance Association Standard (2020). Carvone Retrieved on September 18, 2021 from https://ifrafragrance.org/pdf/web/viewer.html?file=/standards/IFRA_STD_016.pdf