6-Methylhept-5-en-2-one is a naming variant of 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, better known in the literature as sulcatone. It is a small volatile ketone with CAS 110-93-0 and a green-herbal odor profile used in flavor and fragrance contexts. In the current evidence pass, its best-supported literature footprint is chemical ecology: mosquito studies repeatedly identify sulcatone as an olfactory signal. Safety literature is stronger than application literature and suggests low phototoxic concern together with weak sensitization potential under fragrance risk-assessment models.
Aroma and practical use
- Use the recorded herbal, green, lavender-like, citrus, lemongrass-like descriptors to explore a blend's scent character; perceived strength also depends on the other ingredients.
- Review the flagged use concerns across every contributing oil and the selected dilution.
- Read the route, preparation and experimental context before using a study finding to choose an oil.
Reported benefits and effects
Findings retain their study context. An animal or laboratory result describes that experiment.
A 2020 Nature paper reported sulcatone release during male mosquito swarming and increased attraction/mating when sulcatone was included in a synthetic swarm-odor blend.
A 2020 Nature paper reported sulcatone release during male mosquito swarming and increased attraction/mating when sulcatone was included in a synthetic swarm-odor blend.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
A 2019 study identified mosquito receptor Or4 as activated by sulcatone in Toxorhynchites amboinensis, supporting receptor-level detection.
A 2019 study identified mosquito receptor Or4 as activated by sulcatone in Toxorhynchites amboinensis, supporting receptor-level detection.
This reference does not establish a therapeutic result or a safe use level for a custom oil blend.
Use concerns and concentration limits
Sensitization concernFlagged
Flagged in the constituent reference; assess the source, route and finished-product concentration.
Phototoxicity concernNot flagged
Not flagged in the current model. This is not proof of absence or unrestricted safety.
Oxidation concernNot assessed
Not assessed in the available record.
Penetration enhancementNot assessed
Not assessed in the available record.
No numeric constituent-specific use limit is available here. Missing is not an unrestricted-use clearance.
RIFM's 2021 safety assessment found no genotoxic concern in the reviewed battery and no expected phototoxic or photoallergenic concern from UV/Vis analysis.
The source assessment applies to its specified exposure and preparation; this entry is not an unrestricted-use clearance.
No direct public citation is attached to this entry.
Weight-of-evidence review classified the material as a weak sensitizer with a NESIL of 4400 ug/cm2.
The source assessment applies to its specified exposure and preparation; this entry is not an unrestricted-use clearance.
No direct public citation is attached to this entry.
Constituents it may interact with
No constituent-pair interaction is recorded for this identity. The report does not assume either amplification or incompatibility.
How the effects were investigated
Odorant-receptor activation in mosquito olfaction
Odorant-receptor activation in mosquito olfaction
This reference does not establish a therapeutic result or a safe use level for a custom oil blend.
No direct public citation is attached to this entry.
What this report cannot establish
- A reported constituent percentage does not establish an effective human therapeutic dose or the amount absorbed into the body.
- The presence of a constituent does not guarantee a clinical benefit, rash treatment or sleep improvement from a custom blend.
- An unflagged concern or missing use limit does not establish safety for ingestion, inhalation, skin exposure or a particular person.
- A candidate constituent interaction does not establish that two oils amplify one another at the selected proportions.
- Constituent descriptors alone do not establish a precise top, heart or base lifetime in a finished blend.
Known data gaps (4)
- This is a duplicate-name constituent record rather than a distinct chemical identity.
- No separate constituent-specific safety dossier was found for this spelling variant apart from the shared sulcatone record.
- No constituent-specific numeric dermal reference is available here.
- Some findings do not record an explicit exposure route; consult the linked study before applying them to a use.