Abstract: Firstly,menthyl formic acid and thionyl chloride were used as starting materials to prepare menthyl formyl chloride and then menthyl menthylformate was prepared via the reaction of the menthyl formyl chloride and menthol,with anhydrous pyridine as solvent as well as acid absorbing agent.Single factor tests as well as orthogonal designed tests were carried out and the optimal reaction conditions were identified as:mole ratio of the chemical reagents,n(menthol)∶n(menthyl formic acid)=1∶1.5,n(menthol)∶n(pyridine)=1∶6;reaction temperature,60 ℃ for 3 h.Under such conditions,the average yield achieves 83.91%.Structure of the targeted product was characterized by IR,¹HNMR and MS.Via sensory evaluation,the targeted product shows good cool feeling and its threshold value achieves 1.5 mg·L^-1.A filter paper strip impregnated with 100 mg·L^-1 solution of the targeted product can maintain cool feeling in mouth for 20 min.

Key words: menthyl menthylformate, synthesis, sensory evaluation