Litsea cubeba, the aromatic litsea or may chang, is an evergreen tree or shrub 5–12 meters high in the Lauraceae family. It is native to China, Indonesia, Taiwan and other parts of Southeast Asia. It is called “mountain pepper”. It produces a fruit which is processed for its lemony essential oil. The oil can also be extracted from the leaf, but this is considered to be lower in quality.
Litsea Cubeb Essential Oil CAS 68855-99-2
Oil of Litsea Cubeba is a pale yellow, mobile oil of intensely lemon-like, fresh and sweet odor, with a soft and sweet-fruity, uniform dryout. There are few or no “fatty-grassy” methyl heptenone notes detectable. This is where the oil of litsea cubeba has a definite advantage over lemon- grass oil. The citral contents of the two oils are almost equal. However, lemongrass oil has a superior odor-tenacity due to its “heavy” sesquiterpene-part, with a toneout of sweet and moderately pleasant notes. Furthermore, the oil of Litsea Cubeba has also a pleasant taste, and a rectified oil could be used in flavor work as a modifier for lemon and lime flavors, and as a general freshener in fruit flavors.
Arctander, Steffen . Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin