What is caryophyllene? The spicy terpene in cannabis

Caryophyllene, usually meaning β-caryophyllene, is a woody, spicy-smelling terpene found in black pepper, cloves and cannabis. Chemically it is a sesquiterpene with the formula C₁₅H₂₄. It is unusual among terpenes because, in lab studies, it binds the CB2 cannabinoid receptor, although not every study has confirmed this, and research in people is limited.

What is caryophyllene?

Caryophyllene is a terpene, one of the aromatic compounds that give plants their smell. Terpenes are built from five-carbon units; caryophyllene has three of them (15 carbons), which makes it a sesquiterpene. Its structure is unusual: a nine-membered ring fused to a four-membered ring. For terpenes in general, see what are terpenes?

Plants make it in large amounts. It is a common constituent of the essential oils of many spice plants and a major component of cannabis (Gertsch et al., 2008). That is why it is often called the black pepper terpene. In the hemp variety Finola, β-caryophyllene was the most abundant sesquiterpene in the flower resin, and a cannabis enzyme that makes it has been identified (Booth et al., 2017).

Beta-caryophyllene vs caryophyllene: is there a difference?

Usually not. When people write "caryophyllene", they almost always mean (E)-β-caryophyllene. In nature it occurs together with related compounds:

The old name α-caryophyllene for humulene explains much of the confusion. Humulene is a separate compound; see what is humulene?

What does caryophyllene smell like?

Its smell is usually described as woody, spicy and pepper-like. It is used as a fragrance ingredient in cosmetics (Sköld et al., 2006). In cannabis, it contributes to the peppery, woody notes of some varieties. Another sesquiterpene widely used in cosmetics is bisabolol.

What does caryophyllene do?

In plants, terpenes such as caryophyllene are part of the scent and help the plant interact with insects. In the body, interest comes from one finding: in 2008, researchers reported that β-caryophyllene selectively binds the CB2 receptor and activates it, and called it a "dietary cannabinoid" (Gertsch et al., 2008). CB2 is found mainly in immune cells and peripheral tissues. The binding was selective for CB2, not CB1, the receptor through which THC causes a high.

Later work is mixed. A 2020 study testing five common cannabis terpenes found no direct effect on CB1 or CB2, "with the possible exception of a weak interaction of β-caryophyllene with CB2" (Finlay et al., 2020). In mice, β-caryophyllene reduced inflammatory and nerve-pain responses in a CB2-dependent way (Klauke et al., 2014), but this was an animal study. What caryophyllene does in people at the amounts found in plants or products is not known. For the receptors, see the endocannabinoid system.

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Is caryophyllene safe on the skin?

β-Caryophyllene is used as a fragrance ingredient. Like other terpenes, it oxidises when exposed to air: in one study almost half was consumed after five weeks, with caryophyllene oxide as the main product. The oxide was a skin allergen of moderate strength in a lab test, while air-exposed β-caryophyllene was only a weak sensitiser, weaker than oxidised limonene or linalool (Sköld et al., 2006). Closing the bottle after use and storing it away from heat and light limits oxidation; see how long CBD oil lasts.

Is there caryophyllene in CBD oil?

Hemp extracts that keep the plant's terpenes can contain caryophyllene; isolates and terpene-free extracts don't. How much depends on the hemp variety and on processing; terpene profiles vary a lot from plant to plant (Booth and Bohlmann, 2019). Whether terpenes change the effects of cannabinoids, the so-called entourage effect, is debated; the 2020 receptor study above found no support for it at CB1 or CB2 (Finlay et al., 2020). Our guide full spectrum vs broad spectrum vs isolate explains which extracts keep terpenes, and our oils are in the CBD oil collection.