Pimpinella Absolute

#### Pimpinella Absolute. The roots of **Pimpinella Saxifraga **and **Pimpinella Magna **yield an essential oil which is not commercially available. The plants grow wild in various parts of central Europe and are related to anise, angelica, lovage and many other well- known perfume and flavor plants. The essential oil is produced occasionally by a. few perfume and flavor houses for their own use. The roots are commercially available since they form the raw material of **Pimpinella**** ****Tincture**, a well-known pharmaceutical preparation. By gentle evaporation of the tincture, a "resin-absolute" is produced. But since the tincture represents an incomplete extraction, a true absolute of pimpinella root is usually prepared the conventional way: Comminuted pimpinella root is extracted with petroleum ether (low yield, but light-colored extract) or benzene, acetone or ethyl ether. The latter gives a very low yield of an almost liquid extract (mainly essential oil). The concrète extract is subsequently extracted with alcohol, and the alcohol is removed under mild vacuum. Pimpinella absolute is a viscous liquid or a sticky, semi-liquid mass of deep orange, yellow—orange or brownish-orange color. Its odor is very peculiar, sweet and extremely tenacious, some— what spicy, strongly aromatic, herbaceous and woody. The odor and flavor characteristics vary considerably according to the type of solvent used in the first extraction. It is also very difficult to obtain a good pimpinella root material. Pimpinella absolute (or extract) blends well with labdanum, sage clary, opopanax, benzoin, cinnamic alcohol, nitromusks, isoeugenol, lavender oil, isobutyl cinnamate, rose bases, etc. in heavy Oriental bases, chypres, fantasy fougères, etc. It also finds use, although only rarely, in flavors where its deep-sweet tonalities and great tenacity lend a natural and pleasant bodynote and undertone, rounding off the composition to an attractive and more interesting flavor. Liqueurs and candy flavors are some of the fields where pimpinella extracts occasionally find use beyond the use in pharmaceutical preparations such as throat lozenges, cough drops, gargle concentrates, etc.