The wild ancestor of the first tribos consumed in the Fértil Growing corresponds to the so-called diploid or wild einkorn tribides, which are botanically identified as Triticum boeoticum and Triticum urartu. These wild forms grew on the mountain slopes of South-East Anatolia, the Zagros and adjacent regions, where they were part of the "founding crops" of Neolithic along with barley, legumes and other cereals. The domestication of einkorn (cultivated form T. monococcum) occurred in this same macro-region towards the tenth millennium BC, although during the Göbekli Tepe phase botanical sets indicate an intensive use of forms still wild or incipient managed.
- Distribution and Biomas: The wild diploid tritimes are distributed in steppe and mountain environments of the Fértil Crest, especially in South-East Anatolia, northern Syria and the Zagros, where they form communities of grasses on stony slopes, open and clear forests of dry Mediterranean bushes. They prefer well-drained soils, with cold and wet winters and hot and dry summers; their annual cycle adapts to marked seasonality, germinating in autumn, spying in spring and completing maturation in early summer.
- Major Producers (modern forms): At present, wheat (Triticum aestivum) and durum wheat (T. turgidium ssp. durum), distant descendants of these wild tribos, are grown in a massive way in temperate regions around the world, with high volumes in China, India, Russia, the United States and the European Union; the cultivated einkorn is now a minority cereal, produced mainly in Turkey, Balkans and Italy as a traditional or "rediscovered" crop.
Fast source: Einkorn; Kilian et al. 2007; Mahmood & Mansoor 2023; Ahmed et al. 2023.
Species & Culture
Use: Food (wild einkorn grains and other cereals, processed by milling and cooking; probable consumption in the form of papiles, primitive flat breads or gachas in ritual banquet contexts).
Evidence: The archeobotanic studies of Göbekli Tepe have identified carbonized remains and phytolytes attributable to wild einkorn, described as Triticum cf. boeoticum / urartu. The macrobotanical set is limited by the formation processes of the site, but is complemented by analysis of phytolytes taken from sediments and surfaces of mould stones, which show a significant presence of cereals in all the excavated layers. Experiments with replicas of the found teeth indicate that cereals were intensively ground, generating flour that could be used in food preparations served in festive contexts linked to the monumental structures of the compound.
Fast source: Dietrich et al. 2019 - "Cereal processing at Early Neolithic Göbekli Tepe"; Neef, ex-East 2003; DAI - Cereals, feasts and monuments at Göbekli Tepe.
Use: Basic food in the well-studied Ubaid sets (e.g. Tell Zeidan, Syria, and Kenan Tepe, south-east Turkey) the wheat is secondary to the barley, but is part of the grain consumed in the form of flour, papillas or flat breads, in domestic milling, processing and storage contexts. Production and processing on a domestic and above-domestic scale: The abundance of scans / emmer remains (glues, spikes) suggests a localized processing of spikes (thinning, toasting, husking) that involves collective work in certain areas of the settlement and possible accumulation of surpluses. In structures burned with high concentrations of cereals and in contexts associated with pyrotechnic installations it has been suggested that grains (including Triticum sp.) could be part of communal meals or special consumption events, although the evidence is still interpretive.
Evidence: Carbonised macroesters (grain and scans). In Tell Zeidan (Syria), medium Ubaid, the cerealist set is dominated by two-row barley, but the material comes from 47 flotation samples of domestic and non-domestic areas with chronologies Ubaid ca. 6-millennium BC.
In Kenan Tepe (south-east Turkey), the 115 Ubaid phase flotation samples (ca. 6700-6400 BP, i.e. the end of the 5th millennium BC calibrated) show a cerealist spectrum where hulled wheat appears consistently, although less abundant than barley; the remains include carbonized grains and spikes fragments.
Remains of gluten and spikes (chaff) and undetermined tribos: The gluten base and the spikes of Triticum monococcum / dicoccum are very common at several levels Ubaid (TO-0 to TO-4) of a large settlement in the north of Mesopotamia, according to an archeobotanic database with specification by phase and percentage within the whole; at certain levels Ubaid early these remains of wheat chaff reach more than 80% of the identified macroesters, indicating local processing of spikes.
Fast sources:
Smith, 2015. "Ubaid plant use at Tell Zeidan, Syria." Paléorient 41 (2). https: / / www.jstor.org / stable / 44244899
Graham, 2013. "A day in the life of an Ubaid household: archaeobotanical investigations at Kenan Tepe." Antiquity 87. https: / / www.cambridge.org / core / journals / antiquity
Graham, 2011. Ubaid Period Agriculture at Kenan Tepe, Southeast Turkey. PhD dis., University of Connecticut. https: / / digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu / dissertations / AAI3492058
Proctor et al., 2022. "Archaeobotanical and dung spherulite evidence for Ubaid plant use and fuel." Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 45. https: / / www.sciencedirect.com / science / article / pii / S2352409X22001122
Zohary, Hopf & Weiss, 2012. Domestication of Plants in the Old World (foundation crops synthesis; see update in Stevens et al. 2022).
wheat bran absolute
Volatile solvent extraction (concentrate / concrete): The wheat bran, by-product of the molding of grains of Triticum aestivum or related tritimes, is submitted to extraction with organic solvents (e.g. hexane) to obtain a concrete rich in waxes, lipids and aromatic compounds.
Purification in ethanol (absolute): The concrete is dissolved in ethanol, cooled to precipitate waxes and heavy components and, after filtration, the ethanol evaporates into the vacuum, obtaining the absolute of wheat bran (CAS 68916-76-7), suitable for perfumery.
Other techniques: Some manufacturers mention process variants such as the use of modified ethanol, temperature adjustments to modulate the aromatic profile, or additional fractionations to reduce too much fat or phenolic notes.
Main Aromatic Molecules
wheat bran absolute (Bran Absolute, Triticum aestivum L.)
The wheat bran absolute has an olfactory profile described as warm cereal, amber soft and slightly roasted, with honey facets, vanilla, freshly baked bread, walnut and hay. In fine perfumery it is used to confer gourmand effects, to add realism to chords of cocoa, tea, nuts and cereals, and to round intense floral notes providing warmth in the background. Although applicable in the practice of modern wheat bran (T. aestivum), is considered a good sensory approach to the aromas that could generate the processing of diploid tribos as T. boeoticum / urartu in contexts like Göbekli Tepe.
2-acetyl-1-pyrrolin (2-AP)
2-acetyl-1-pyrrolin is a heterocyclic compound with extremely low olfactory threshold that provides the characteristic smell of fresh baked bread, jasmine rice, basmati and popcorn. It is formed mainly through Maillard reactions during baking of masses rich in starch and proteins, such as those made with wheat flour; its presence contributes to the toasted and "bread cortex" notes associated with cereals. Although used mainly in food flavouring, there are degrees of purity for fraternal applications and their formation in whole wheat and other cereals is studied.
Fast sources:
ScenTree - Bran absolute; Robertet Groupe - Bran absolute ingredient for perfume; MRL Naturals by IFF - Bran Absolute; The Perfume's Apprentice - Bran Absolute; Zurma Botanical Oil Studio - Bran Absolute; Hermitage Oils - Bran Absolute; Fragrance University - Bran absolute; PubMed - Jost et al. 2019 "Efficient Analysis of 2-Acetyl-1-pyrrol in Foods'; ACS - articles on 2-AP in wheat matrices; Wikipedia - 2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline.
No specific IFRA standard for "wheat aroma" as such; there are IFRA standards for molecules that could appear in derived products (e.g. some aldehydes), which would apply on a case-by-case basis.
) Main food allergy; specific regulation for hydrolysed wheat proteins (≤ 3.5 kDa in cosmetics) for allergy risk, applicable if used as a functional ingredient, also in perfumed products.
Space under construction by collaborators.
The section Technical information and has a general arguative character. It is presented for information purposes to promote responsible knowledge. Because of the risks associated with the incorrect use of botanical extracts, aromatic molecules and the increase in unregulated practices in the production of aromatic products, Myrodia Khartes has chosen not to disclose complete extraction methodologies or specific concentrations that may compromise public safety. Health, ethics and scientific integrity guide our decision to limit the exposure of certain technical data.
- European Commission. (2009). Regulation (EC) No 1223 / 2009 on Cosmetic Products. Official Journal of the European Union, L 342, 59-209.
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IFRA (International Fragrance Association). (2023). IFRA Standards Library: 52nd Amendment.
- The Good Scens Company. (2025). Fragrance Raw Materials Database
