They occur naturally in plants and animals. Small esters, in combination with other volatile compounds, produce the pleasant aroma of fruits. For example, an artificial pineapple flavor contains more than twenty ingredients but ethyl butyrate is the major component that accounts for the pineapple-like aroma and flavor. Strawberry Some esters play an important role in insect communication. Isoamyl acetate, the main component of banana aroma, is also the alarm pheromone of the honeybee.
Esters also have remarkable applications in everyday life.
Plexiglas is a stiff, transparent plastic made of long chains of esters. Benzocaine and procaine are chemicals used in medicinal preparations to alleviate pain caused by skin burns. Hopefully this brief overview of Esters will help you appreciate the diverse nature of aromas and flavors. We will prepare some of these compounds in the laboratory and compare them to the flavors and fragrances that comprise candies and fruits. For more information regarding these techniques please visit the following web site - Mass Spectrometry.