Carvone (CV)

Carvone is a member of a family of chemicals called terpenoids. Carvone is found naturally in many essential oils, but is most abundant in the oils from seeds of caraway (Carum carvi) and dill. Carvone forms two mirror image forms or enantiomers: R-(–)-carvone smells like spearmint. Its mirror image, S-(+)-carvone, smells like caraway. The fact that the two enantiomers are perceived as smelling differently is proof that olfactory receptors must contain chiral groups, allowing them to respond more strongly to one enantiomer than to the other. Not all enantiomers have distinguishable odors. Squirrel monkeys have also been found to be able to discriminate between carvone enantiomers. The dextro-form, S-(+)-carvone is obtained practically pure by the fractional distillation of caraway oil. The levo-form obtained from the oils containing it usually requires additional treatment to produce high purity R-(-)-carvone.