Jasmine is also an important component of floral notes. Many people think of jasmine tea when they think of it. For those people, it may seem strange that jasmine is one of the floral notes. This is because floral notes have a floral scent.
However, in fact, jasmine does not have a scent on the leaves, but on the flowers. The tea leaves used in jasmine tea are not jasmine leaves, but the scent of jasmine flowers transferred to tea leaves such as ordinary green tea.Its purpose is the use of low quality tea leaves. In other words, low quality tea leaves are not very delicious when drunk as they are.
Therefore, I decided to transfer the scent of the flowers of Arabian jasmine (Marika) to the tea leaves and drink it. By the way, Arabian jasmine as a plant is a kind of Jasminum of the family Oleaceae, Lamiales. It is also called Jasmine because of the genus name of Jasminum.
Jasmine is a reading derived from Persian. Jasmine is also used as a female name in the Middle East and the West, although it was also mentioned in the heroine name of the Disney movie “Aladdin”. In Japan, there is an example of using “Mari” as a woman’s name.
Tea that uses the scent of flowers like jasmine tea is called flower tea, and in addition to jasmine tea, there are katsura tea and so on. Katsura is a term that refers to the flowers of the genus Mokusei in general, and Keikacha is a flower tea that uses the petals of Kinmokusei for fragrance.
Now, let’s return to the story of floral notes. The floral note was the scent of flowers. Jasmine flowers are white flowers with slightly elongated five-petaled petals. It blooms at night. If you look closely at jasmine tea, you may see white petals mixed in, which are the petals of the Arabian jasmine used for flavoring, or scenting. When it comes to floral notes, the scent of jasmine consists of over 200 different ingredients.
For this reason, it is extracted from natural materials rather than synthetic. The perfume component (jasmine oil) is extracted with a solvent, but only about 1 liter can be obtained from 1 ton of petals. Interestingly, one of the unique ingredients of jasmine oil, methyl jasmonate, has an important role in the plant.
It is a biological defense. In general, plants tend to be seen as non-resisting to foreign enemies. However, plants are not actually non-resistive. In reality, humans who harvest plants as crops are also big enemies for plants, but the biggest enemies of plants are insects. The plant resists this insect. However, plants do not eat insects as aggressively as carnivorous plants. Since plants are pacifist, we have a strategy of not feeding them. What that means is the following flow.
First, let’s say the plant is eaten. It was eaten or bitten by an adult or larva of an insect.
The plant then produces a substance called systemin at the site of feeding damage. Systemin spreads throughout the plant and binds to receptors on the cell membrane.
The cells then produce a substance called jasmonic acid. Jasmonic acid then makes a proteolytic enzyme inhibitor. Proteolytic enzyme inhibitors, as the name implies, are substances that interfere with the action of proteolytic enzymes.
What if you interfere with the action of proteolytic enzymes? Insects actually digest the fragments of the plants they eat. It is this proteolytic enzyme that works at that time. In other words, with proteolytic enzyme inhibitors, insects will have indigestion even if they eat plants. It cannot be nourished.
Therefore, insects decide that this plant cannot be eaten and stop eating it.
Jasmonic acid
In addition, a substance called methyl jasmonate is also produced from jasmonic acid. Methyl jasmonate is a substance in which jasmonic acid is methylated and is volatile. In other words, it is a substance that easily evaporates.
This methyl jasmonate acts as an alarm. Rather than trying to eat the plants that have been eaten, it works on the surrounding plants.
Specifically, similar plants often grow around damaged plants, which receive methyl jasmonate. Generally, plants take in air such as carbon dioxide from their stomata. This is for photosynthesis.
At this time, if the air contains methyl jasmonate, that methyl jasmonate will also be taken in. In other words, methyl jasmonate is transmitted to neighboring plants through the air. Then, the same thing happens in the body of the eaten plant. Proteolytic enzyme inhibitors are produced.
As a result, insects cannot digest this well by eating not only the damaged plant but also the surrounding plants. The insects then stop eating the plants around them and move to another location.
As a result, not only the damaged plants but also the surrounding plants are protected from insects.
Methyl jasmonate
It’s a long way from the story of floral notes, but the scent also has this kind of function. Not only does it give off a nice scent, it also plays an important role for plants.
An article on Floral notes – Muguet (Lily of the valley) is here;
Flower scent “floral note” muguet (lily of the valley)
The third floral note is lily of the valley.
As the name suggests, lily of the valley is a flower like a bell, and it blooms pretty flowers around May. The scent is a gorgeous scent with a botanical feel. Muguet in French. In France, it is customary to give lilies of the valley on May Day (May 1st).
The scent of lily of the valley is wonderful, but the floral notes of lily of the valley contained in the perfume are basically not natural products. It is a compound.
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