Formula (I) is deemed to define isomers of 2,6-dimethylbicyclo[4.4.0]decan-1-ol, namely the isomers of formula ##STR3##
(-)-Geosmin (Ic), which is a known compound, was isolated for the first time by Gerber et al. [Appl. Micro-biol. 13, 935 (1965)] as a metabolite of several micro-organisms of the family of actinomycetes. It occurs also in nature as a metabolite of certain algae [see T. Kikuchi et al., Chem. pharm. Bull., 21, 2342 (1973)] and it has been considered as the compound responsible for the desagreable odour of public water supplies. Its odour has been defined by most of the authors as being earthy-musty and, so far, no utilization of it has been nor mentioned nor suggested. We have now unexpectedly discovered that (-)-geosmin, as well as its isomers of formula (Ia) and (Ib) possessed very useful odorous properties and, consequently, these compounds could be advantageously used in numerous perfume compositions of various nature.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds