Dictyopterenes are a group of chemical compounds that are naturally present in freshwater environments. They are sexual attractants, or pheromone

Pheromone

A pheromone is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual...

s, found with several species of brown algae

Brown algae

The Phaeophyceae or brown algae , is a large group of mostly marine multicellular algae, including many seaweeds of colder Northern Hemisphere waters. They play an important role in marine environments, both as food and for the habitats they form...

 (Phaeophyceae). The chemical formula of dictyopterene A is trans-1-(trans-1-hexenyl)-2-vinylcyclopropane. The chemical formula of dictyopterene C' is 6-butylcyclohepta-1,4-diene. Dictyopterene A can be extracted from the essential oil

Essential oil

An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils or aetherolea, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove...

 of algae of the genus Dictyopteris.