MOLECULE
Also named γ-nonanolactone in SmellBook’s evidence.
Named in 2 VERIFIED claims about 3 Atlas entries: Cardboard, Fresh Milk, Wet Cardboard.
Key odorant · the claim says “among the most intense”
Aroma extract dilution analysis detected 36 odour-active compounds in cardboard, with vanillin, (E)-2-nonenal, γ-nonalactone, 2-methoxyphenol and δ-decalactone among the most intense, and moistening the cardboard released them extensively.
Scope: Cardboard samples analysed in one study; cardboard varies with its fibres, recycling and storage. CLM-CARDBOARD-001 ↗
Linked to the odour · the claim says “milky odour correlated positively with”
Gas chromatography–olfactometry of pasteurised and UHT milks detected 48 aroma-active compounds, 11 of them key, and milky odour correlated positively with γ-dodecalactone and γ-nonanolactone.
Scope: Six commercial pasteurised and UHT milks; the lactone links are correlations, and raw milk was not studied. CLM-MILK-001 ↗
Key odorant · the claim says “among the most intense”
Aroma extract dilution analysis detected 36 odour-active compounds in cardboard, with vanillin, (E)-2-nonenal, γ-nonalactone, 2-methoxyphenol and δ-decalactone among the most intense, and moistening the cardboard released them extensively.
Scope: Cardboard samples analysed in one study; cardboard varies with its fibres, recycling and storage. CLM-CARDBOARD-001 ↗
OALYTRUKMRCXNH-UHFFFAOYSA-NChecked against PubChem and Wikidata on 2026-10-02 (identifier check run 37063263965). Every name SmellBook uses must resolve to the same single PubChem compound.
SmellBook lists a molecule only where a VERIFIED claim names it, in the role and scope that claim states. A molecule reported in a smell's evidence is not the whole smell: most smells come from many compounds together, and the studies measured particular samples, such as one cultivar, an essential oil or a cooked product.
Permanent identifier smellbook:molecule:gamma-nonalactone · Graph record (JSON)
Cite as SmellBook. (2026). γ-nonalactone (molecule). SmellBook knowledge graph, Strategy Phase 369. smellbook:molecule:gamma-nonalactone. https://smellbook.com/molecules/gamma-nonalactone
Dataset history In the SmellBook dataset since Strategy Phase 369.