Lactones with a fragrance properties

The various types of lactones have different durability and properties. The most stable among γ-lactones and δ-lactones, which are those containing respectively five or six carbon in the cyclic ring. The lowest durability can be attributed to α-lactones, due to the strong tension torsion and angle of bonds between the atoms forming the ring. Similar tension, to a lesser extent also observed in the β-lactone, but despite this, some of which occur naturally in nature and developed methods for their isolation. The compounds with lactone moiety containing more than six atoms in the ring are generally unstable due to their occurring adverse effects associated with the construction of a cyclic system. However, there are known several examples of such substances e.g. commonly used in the cosmetic industry, eg. ω-pentadecalactone [8, 17]. Lactones are responsible for the smell and taste of fruit, vegetables, meat, mushrooms and alcoholic beverages. Their properties depend primarily on the amount atoms in the ring, the type of substituents, the presence of unsaturated bonds and the configuration of stereogenic centers [6]. The smell and taste of fruits, vegetables and alcoholic beverages is mainly influenced by sym-lactones, while δ-lactones fall bouquet flavoring dairy products [9].