How are perfumes and aromatic substances made? How important are they for industry and society? How does Syngenta contribute to the world of scents and flowers? We went to Grasse in southern France, following in the footsteps of Patrick Süskind’s recently filmed “Parfum”. We discovered a number of surprises...
After a short journey through the hilly wooded hinterland of the Côte d’Azur, the visitor comes upon Grasse, the city of perfume or – as Patrick Süskind calls it – “The Rome of Fragrances”. The little town with its imposing cathedral sits majestically on one of these countless hills.
After reaching your destination by a long zigzag road and entering the pedestrian area of the old city, you have the impression of stepping into a piece of living history.
Grasse is a voyage of discovery for the eyes, but an even greater one for the nose. Fragrances are present everywhere. And if you have read Süskind’s “Parfum”, you are almost certain to recall some text passages and how Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, the main character in the novel, experienced this centre of leather production and perfume-making in the 18th century: “Grasse was incredibly dirty, despite or indeed because of all the water, emerging from dozens of springs and fountains, gurgling down through the town in irregular streams and runnels and undermining the streets or flooding them with mud. But however dirty, narrow and unpleasant this all was, the city was still bustling with commercial activity”.
Today the contrast remains enormous: perhaps because of all the spicy and florid perfumes in the wider streets with rows of perfume stores and scent retailers, the visitor becomes still more aware of the often intensively disagreeable odours in the back streets. And if you visit a perfume factory, this experience of contrasts for the nose continues: first, gently surrounded by the restrained and sweet fragrance which flatters its senses, it is soon overwhelmed by the perception of a very intensive odor.
A brief glance at history
The guild of tanners was already flourishing in Grasse back in the Middle Ages. The hinterland provided an abundant supply of hides, and the plants which were important for tanning. Big markets and ports such as Marseille were a dependable outlet for sales. In the 17th century, demand moved towards perfumed leather and that was when the boom of perfume production began. Everything which the heart of a perfumier longed for – oranges, roses and jasmine flourished here, and even the night hyacinth or tuberose. In the 19th century, competition emerged in the shape of the big Parisian perfume houses, but Grasse remained an attractive site.
The industry in Grasse is still expanding and its production is increasing to satisfy the constant demand from a growing and changing market: in the first instance, expansion through classical products such as perfumes, cosmetics and fragrant soaps to embrace cleaning agents, washing soap and the entire cleaning and maintenance industry. Then again, flavourings and aromatic substances were also being developed for the expanding food industry.
Visiting the “Nose”
You realize just how demanding the job of perfumiers (called the “Nose”) has always been when you try to create your own perfume. You sit almost helplessly in front of the “Scent Organ” with around 130 different fragrances. You have absolutely no idea where to begin, and are greatly relieved if a member of staff or even the “Nose” himself comes to help.
To make the choice somewhat easier, you first select the underlying tendency of your perfume and decide whether it is essentially flowery or oriental. These tendencies are then divided into subgroups, such as fresh or spicy. And when you have made your selection by exercising your sense of smell, you have the choice of other essences: these create the basic note, i.e. the foundation on which the heart, the largest quantity and “in a sense” the soul, of the perfume is built. The “nose” gives you some suggestions, but never makes the choice himself. After all, this is to be your own personal fragrance.
The final step is the head note which vaporises quickly on the skin but rounds off the perfume and gives it the final touch. When you are ready you wait for the “Nose” and are keen on his comment which might be something like “Yes, very fruity, fresh”.
Finally the perfume is poured into a little bottle and marked with the factory label and the name which you have chosen personally. Now you receive your diploma as “Elève du Parfumeur” (Perfumier’s pupil) and can then receive your unique perfume created by you in person.
You leave the perfumery proudly but will surely ask yourself how this mysterious “Nose” manages to name most of the ingredients of a mixture of more than a dozen fragrances, while you yourself can at best do so for one single fragrance. The “Nose” is totally familiar with up to 3,000 different fragrances and often blends them together in his head. So you are bound to feel respect!.
The importance of smell
Perfume, eau de toilette, eau de cologne, soap and shampoo: fragrances are a part of our everyday life and when you stroll through a perfume museum, for instance in Grasse, you can see how most of the great or prosperous cultures of ancient Egypt, Rome or Persia used their fragrances. But why did they do so? Why do you want to “ornament” or overlay the natural odor of the body with perfumes. Well, since the discovery of the pheromones and their mode of action in the late 1950s, there has been one possible explanation: the nose is capable of more than we realize and the expression that somebody is “in bad odor” has surely not come about by chance. Scientists suggest that most partners are selected via the nose…
The importance of the nose in our lives has perhaps not yet been fully scientifically explained. But the perfume industry will remain a lucrative business. Nobody likes approaching a person whose odor seems unpleasant.. Perhaps Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, Süskind’s main character, was right when he said “If you control perfumes you also control the human heart!”
All about pheromones...
A special kind of fragrance used by Syngenta in some of its products to eliminate pests are pheromones. 1959 saw a breakthrough in research into insect reproduction. Scientists discovered the importance of pheromones, chemical signals emitted by males or females with special effects on potential partners’ sense of smell. Subsequent investigations pointed to similar processes in other animals, including mammals. By the 1970s, this research had also extended to humans. As with animals, pheromones act directly on olfactory receptors closely involved in particular hormonal mechanisms.
… and other seductive substances
For insects, mammals and human beings, pheromones establish biochemical communication between living creatures of the same species. Other species are excluded from this communication. Apart from substances which create sexual attraction we find – for instance in insects – pheromones which are used to mark out routes or convey alarm messengers.
The pheromone trap used by Syngenta to control the spread of the grape berry moth (lobesia botrana), the bark beetle (ips typographus) and the codling moth (cydia pomonella) is now a relatively low cost but highly sensitive “tool” for plant protection. Generally, a trap of this kind consists of specific pheromones for particular species and an adhesive substance; the male insects are attracted by a confusion tactic in their presumed search for females and then “trapped”.
The best moment for action
Pheromone traps enable the occurrence of pests to be recorded and the timing of their flight season registered to determine the best moment to take action. At the same time a survey of the insects caught in the trap also enables us to determine when the application of an insecticide or plant protection agent to ward off these harmful insects is really necessary.
Fruit growers rarely see nocturnally active pests like codling moths. So they have to rely fully on the quality of the pheromone traps. Reliable identification of the start of the insect season is only possible if pheromone composition and dose remain constant from year to year. So the quality of the traps determines the growers’ optimum use of crop protection products.
In the kingdom of perfumes – with Syngenta
The city of Grasse did not become the cradle of the perfume industry by chance. The region has always benefited from ideal conditions for flower growing. They include a very pleasant climate with mild temperatures, long periods of sunshine and little rain, as well as the very fertile soil. True, the many tourists who visit the Côte d’Azur hinterland search almost in vain for the big flower fields, but they do still exist: for instance roses – “Rosa Centifolia” known as the “May Rose” - are harvested from May to June, orange blossom from the end of April to early June and jasmine in July and August. But the most impressive fields must surely be those in which mimosa blossoms from January to March, broom flowers in June and lavender in July.
Fragrance and cures
Syngenta is a leading supplier of flowers worldwide. The company’s large S&G brand range includes some fragrant and even therapeutic flowers. Further north in Europe than Grasse, for example, lavender (lavendula angustifolia) has been appreciated from time immemorial for its pleasant fragrance. Its flowers can be used to keep moths away. The attractive but hardy bush belonging to the labiatae family grows to a height of up to one metre.
Apart from being a key ingredient for making perfumes, lavender is used in the form of herbal tea to calm migraines and nervous tachycardia; it can used externally as spirit of lavender to relieve headaches, dislocations or contusions. S&G supplies lavender under the Blue Scent™ name as a dark blue bush with rich blossoms and intensive fragrance.
Other fragrant flowers included in the S&G range are different types of violet (viola hybrida), primula (primula acaulis), gerberas (gerbera jamesonii) and cyclamen (cyclamen persicum). S&G also supplies other typical medicinal plants: the best-known include the pot marigold (calendula officinalis), generally an annual plant which contains essential oils, flavonoids or bitter substances and is used to make wounds heal more effectively, the red foxglove (digitalis purpurea) and lemon balm (melissa officinalis).
Further information about the S&G flower range is available via www.sg-flowers.com
