Myrcene

Pharmacology & Research

Myrcene (β-myrcene, 7-methyl-3-methylene-1,6-octadiene) is an acyclic monoterpene with an earthy, musky, faintly fruity aroma — one of the most widely distributed terpenes in nature and the volatile that dominates the essential oil of hops. It is also a major terpene of cannabis flower, lemongrass, juniper and fish mint, a relative of the other volatile monoterpenes α-pinene, β-pinene and limonene, and a high-volume food-flavouring agent. Two things frame its evidence, and both are unusually load-bearing here. First, almost every “myrcene” result is an essential-oil or whole-plant study, or a high-dose rodent experiment — there is no efficacy trial of the isolated molecule in humans, and a myrcene-rich oil is not the same as myrcene. Second, myrcene is a small, volatile, lipophilic monoterpene: it is absorbed and cleared rapidly, distributes into fat and organs, and its systemic pharmacology is governed by that fast turnover ^{1,12Reference 1Surendran S et al. · 2021ReviewMyrcene — What Are the Potential Health Benefits of This Flavouring and Aroma Agent? — reviewView study →Reference 12Papada E et al. · 2020An Absorption and Plasma Kinetics Study of Monoterpenes Present in Mastiha Oil in Humans — human pharmacokinetic studyView study →}. Its best-defined isolate signals are analgesia (via endogenous-opioid, α2-adrenergic and cannabinoid-receptor mechanisms) ^{2,5Reference 2Rao VS et al. · 1990AnimalEffect of myrcene on nociception in mice — mouse in vivoView study →Reference 5Alayoubi M et al. · 2025AnimalElucidating interplay between myrcene and cannabinoid receptor 1 receptors to produce antinociception in mouse models of neuropathic pain — mouse in vivo animal modelView study →} and anti-inflammatory activity ^{6,7Reference 6Rufino AT et al. · 2015In vitroEvaluation of the anti-inflammatory, anti-catabolic and pro-anabolic effects of E-caryophyllene, myrcene and limonene in a cell model of osteoarthritis — in vitro (human chondrocytes)View study →Reference 7Almarzooqi S et al. · 2022AnimalAlmarzooqi S, Venkataraman B, Raj V, Alkuwaiti SA, Das KM, Collin PD, Adrian TE, Subramanya SB (2022). β-Myrcene Mitigates Colon Inflammation by Inhibiting MAP Kinase and NF-κB Signaling Pathways — mouse DSS colitis + human colon cells. Molecules. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36557879/View study →}; the widely repeated “sedating / couch-lock” reputation from cannabis-terpene folklore rests on high-dose rodent work and is unproven in humans.

1. Analgesia / pain

The strongest isolate line. Isolated myrcene (10–20 mg/kg i.p.) inhibited nociception in mouse hot-plate and writhing tests, and the effect was reversed by naloxone and yohimbine — implicating α2-adrenoceptor-stimulated release of endogenous opioids ^{2Reference 2Rao VS et al. · 1990AnimalEffect of myrcene on nociception in mice — mouse in vivoView study →}. Myrcene also reproduces the peripheral analgesia of lemongrass tea without the tolerance seen with morphine ^{3Reference 3Lorenzetti BB et al. · 1991AnimalMyrcene mimics the peripheral analgesic activity of lemongrass tea — rodent in vivoView study →}. More recent work adds a cannabinoid mechanism: local myrcene reduced joint pain in rat adjuvant monoarthritis, blocked by a CB1 (AM281) or CB2 (AM630) antagonist ^{4Reference 4McDougall JJ · 2022AnimalAnti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Properties of the Cannabis Terpene Myrcene in Rat Adjuvant Monoarthritis — rat in vivo animal modelView study →}, and it dose-dependently attenuated nerve-injury allodynia in mice through CB1 (antagonist-reversible) without directly activating the receptor ^{5Reference 5Alayoubi M et al. · 2025AnimalElucidating interplay between myrcene and cannabinoid receptor 1 receptors to produce antinociception in mouse models of neuropathic pain — mouse in vivo animal modelView study →}.

Gap: every study is rodent; potency is modest, the mechanisms are plural and not fully reconciled, and there is no human analgesia trial of the isolate ^{2,4,5Reference 2Rao VS et al. · 1990AnimalEffect of myrcene on nociception in mice — mouse in vivoView study →Reference 4McDougall JJ · 2022AnimalAnti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Properties of the Cannabis Terpene Myrcene in Rat Adjuvant Monoarthritis — rat in vivo animal modelView study →Reference 5Alayoubi M et al. · 2025AnimalElucidating interplay between myrcene and cannabinoid receptor 1 receptors to produce antinociception in mouse models of neuropathic pain — mouse in vivo animal modelView study →}.

2. Anti-inflammatory

Mechanistically the best-resolved signal, and the one place with human-cell data. In human osteoarthritic chondrocytes, isolated myrcene (25–50 µg/mL) inhibited IL-1β-induced nitric-oxide production and decreased NF-κB, JNK and p38 activation, lowering the catabolic enzymes MMP-1 and MMP-13 ^{6Reference 6Rufino AT et al. · 2015In vitroEvaluation of the anti-inflammatory, anti-catabolic and pro-anabolic effects of E-caryophyllene, myrcene and limonene in a cell model of osteoarthritis — in vitro (human chondrocytes)View study →}. In a mouse DSS-colitis model and TNF-α-challenged human colon cells, β-myrcene likewise suppressed MAP-kinase and NF-κB signalling and reduced inflammatory mediators ^{7Reference 7Almarzooqi S et al. · 2022AnimalAlmarzooqi S, Venkataraman B, Raj V, Alkuwaiti SA, Das KM, Collin PD, Adrian TE, Subramanya SB (2022). β-Myrcene Mitigates Colon Inflammation by Inhibiting MAP Kinase and NF-κB Signaling Pathways — mouse DSS colitis + human colon cells. Molecules. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36557879/View study →}, consistent with lower cytokines and COX-2 in rodent arthritis/synovitis ^{4,1Reference 4McDougall JJ · 2022AnimalAnti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Properties of the Cannabis Terpene Myrcene in Rat Adjuvant Monoarthritis — rat in vivo animal modelView study →Reference 1Surendran S et al. · 2021ReviewMyrcene — What Are the Potential Health Benefits of This Flavouring and Aroma Agent? — reviewView study →}.

Gap: the human evidence is in-vitro cell work; the in-vivo endpoints are rodent, and no clinical inflammation trial exists ^{6,7Reference 6Rufino AT et al. · 2015In vitroEvaluation of the anti-inflammatory, anti-catabolic and pro-anabolic effects of E-caryophyllene, myrcene and limonene in a cell model of osteoarthritis — in vitro (human chondrocytes)View study →Reference 7Almarzooqi S et al. · 2022AnimalAlmarzooqi S, Venkataraman B, Raj V, Alkuwaiti SA, Das KM, Collin PD, Adrian TE, Subramanya SB (2022). β-Myrcene Mitigates Colon Inflammation by Inhibiting MAP Kinase and NF-κB Signaling Pathways — mouse DSS colitis + human colon cells. Molecules. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36557879/View study →}.

3. Sedative / muscle relaxant

The source of the cannabis “sedating myrcene” reputation — real in rodents, unproven in people. Isolated myrcene (100–200 mg/kg i.p.) reduced locomotion and rearing, relaxed muscle on the rota-rod, and markedly potentiated barbiturate/pentobarbital sleeping time in mice ^{8Reference 8Gurgel do Vale T et al. · 2002AnimalCentral effects of citral, myrcene and limonene, constituents of essential oil chemotypes from Lippia alba — mouse in vivoView study →}; myrcene was also identified as the sedative-hypnotic component of lavender oil in a PCPA-insomnia model, acting through serotonergic (5-HT/GABA) signalling ^{9Reference 9Chen L et al. · 2024AnimalBeta-Myrcene as a Sedative-Hypnotic Component from Lavender Essential Oil in DL-4-Chlorophenylalanine-Induced-Insomnia Mice — mouse in vivoView study →}. But these are very high doses far above any dietary or inhaled exposure, the barbiturate effect partly reflects slowed drug metabolism rather than direct hypnosis ^{1,8Reference 1Surendran S et al. · 2021ReviewMyrcene — What Are the Potential Health Benefits of This Flavouring and Aroma Agent? — reviewView study →Reference 8Gurgel do Vale T et al. · 2002AnimalCentral effects of citral, myrcene and limonene, constituents of essential oil chemotypes from Lippia alba — mouse in vivoView study →}, and the popular claim that myrcene drives cannabis “couch-lock” or a terpene “entourage effect” has no human evidence — one controlled study even found no synergy between myrcene and CBD ^{4Reference 4McDougall JJ · 2022AnimalAnti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Properties of the Cannabis Terpene Myrcene in Rat Adjuvant Monoarthritis — rat in vivo animal modelView study →}.

Gap: rodent-only at supraphysiologic doses; the human sedation/entourage narrative is folklore, not data ^{4,8Reference 4McDougall JJ · 2022AnimalAnti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Properties of the Cannabis Terpene Myrcene in Rat Adjuvant Monoarthritis — rat in vivo animal modelView study →Reference 8Gurgel do Vale T et al. · 2002AnimalCentral effects of citral, myrcene and limonene, constituents of essential oil chemotypes from Lippia alba — mouse in vivoView study →}.

4. Gastroprotection / anti-ulcer

Isolated β-myrcene, a minor constituent of bitter-orange oil, protected the rat gastric and duodenal mucosa across several ulcer models (ethanol, NSAID, stress) at just 7.5 mg/kg orally, and also promoted healing of established lesions — effects tied to boosting mucosal defences (glutathione, nitric oxide, sulfhydryls, glutathione peroxidase/reductase) rather than acid suppression ^{10Reference 10Bonamin F et al. · 2014AnimalThe effect of a minor constituent of essential oil from Citrus aurantium: the role of β-myrcene in preventing peptic ulcer disease — rat in vivo animal modelView study →}.

Gap: a single (if thorough) rat study; no dose-ranging replication and no human data ^{10Reference 10Bonamin F et al. · 2014AnimalThe effect of a minor constituent of essential oil from Citrus aurantium: the role of β-myrcene in preventing peptic ulcer disease — rat in vivo animal modelView study →}.

5. Antioxidant / neuroprotection

A high-dose antioxidant signal. Isolated β-myrcene (200 mg/kg orally) attenuated oxidative and histological brain damage after global cerebral ischaemia/reperfusion in mice, raising glutathione, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase and lowering lipid peroxidation ^{11Reference 11Ciftci O et al. · 2014AnimalNeuroprotective effects of β-myrcene following global cerebral ischemia/reperfusion-mediated oxidative and neuronal damage in a C57BL/J6 mouse — mouse in vivo animal modelView study →}; the same radical-scavenging character underlies its hepatic and gastric protective effects ^{1,10Reference 1Surendran S et al. · 2021ReviewMyrcene — What Are the Potential Health Benefits of This Flavouring and Aroma Agent? — reviewView study →Reference 10Bonamin F et al. · 2014AnimalThe effect of a minor constituent of essential oil from Citrus aurantium: the role of β-myrcene in preventing peptic ulcer disease — rat in vivo animal modelView study →}.

Gap: preclinical only, at doses (~200 mg/kg) orders of magnitude above human exposure, with no isolated-molecule clinical data ^{11,1Reference 11Ciftci O et al. · 2014AnimalNeuroprotective effects of β-myrcene following global cerebral ischemia/reperfusion-mediated oxidative and neuronal damage in a C57BL/J6 mouse — mouse in vivo animal modelView study →Reference 1Surendran S et al. · 2021ReviewMyrcene — What Are the Potential Health Benefits of This Flavouring and Aroma Agent? — reviewView study →}.

Mechanisms

Target / pathway	Effect	Relevant to
Endogenous opioids + α2-adrenoceptor	Antinociception; naloxone/yohimbine-reversible	Analgesia
CB1 (indirect) + CB2 receptors	Antinociception; antagonist-reversible	Analgesia (arthritic, neuropathic)
TRPV1	Modulation → peripheral nociception	Analgesia
NF-κB / JNK / p38 MAPK	↓ iNOS/NO, MMP-1/-13, catabolic genes	Anti-inflammatory (chondrocytes, colon)
COX-2 / PGE2	↓ prostaglandin-driven inflammation	Anti-inflammatory
Serotonergic (5-HT) / GABA; CYP450	↑ GABA/5-HT; potentiates barbiturate sleep (partly via slowed metabolism)	Sedative / hypnotic
GSH, GPx, SOD, nitric oxide	↑ antioxidant defences; ↓ lipid peroxidation	Gastroprotection, neuroprotection

Pharmacokinetics

Myrcene’s pharmacokinetics are the hinge of its pharmacology, and they are those of a small, volatile, lipophilic terpene: fast in, fast out. It is absorbed rapidly — in a human oral study of mastic (Mastiha) oil, β-myrcene appeared in plasma within ~30 minutes and was cleared over the following hours ^{12Reference 12Papada E et al. · 2020An Absorption and Plasma Kinetics Study of Monoterpenes Present in Mastiha Oil in Humans — human pharmacokinetic studyView study →} — and distributes preferentially into adipose tissue and into the liver, brain, kidneys and gonads ^{1Reference 1Surendran S et al. · 2021ReviewMyrcene — What Are the Potential Health Benefits of This Flavouring and Aroma Agent? — reviewView study →}. In rats it is eliminated mainly in urine with a plasma elimination half-life of roughly 285 minutes, after extensive CYP450-mediated oxidation to hydroxylated and diol metabolites (e.g. 10-hydroxylinalool) ^{1Reference 1Surendran S et al. · 2021ReviewMyrcene — What Are the Potential Health Benefits of This Flavouring and Aroma Agent? — reviewView study →}. A formal absolute oral bioavailability has never been determined in any species; one small human estimate put β-myrcene near ~22% from a low oral dose, but with a very large margin of error ^{1Reference 1Surendran S et al. · 2021ReviewMyrcene — What Are the Potential Health Benefits of This Flavouring and Aroma Agent? — reviewView study →}. Two practical consequences follow. First, volatility plus rapid first-pass metabolism keep sustained systemic exposure low, so the high concentrations used in vitro and the high milligram-per-kilogram doses used in rodents are not trivially reached in people — the central caveat separating myrcene’s preclinical results from real-world exposure. Second, its CYP inhibition is itself a pharmacodynamic fact: myrcene prolongs barbiturate sleeping time in part by slowing the barbiturate’s own metabolism ^{1,8Reference 1Surendran S et al. · 2021ReviewMyrcene — What Are the Potential Health Benefits of This Flavouring and Aroma Agent? — reviewView study →Reference 8Gurgel do Vale T et al. · 2002AnimalCentral effects of citral, myrcene and limonene, constituents of essential oil chemotypes from Lippia alba — mouse in vivoView study →}.

Clinical trials

There are no registered efficacy trials of isolated myrcene for any endpoint. The human data are limited to pharmacokinetics — myrcene absorbed as one component of a multi-terpene oil ^{12Reference 12Papada E et al. · 2020An Absorption and Plasma Kinetics Study of Monoterpenes Present in Mastiha Oil in Humans — human pharmacokinetic studyView study →} — plus two small studies of inhaled plant extracts containing under ~25% myrcene, which cannot be attributed to the molecule ^{1Reference 1Surendran S et al. · 2021ReviewMyrcene — What Are the Potential Health Benefits of This Flavouring and Aroma Agent? — reviewView study →}. Everything on this page is preclinical.

Last checked: July 2026.

Toxicity & Safety

Myrcene is eaten routinely — it is a natural constituent of hops, mango, thyme, basil and many herbs, and a long-standing food-flavouring agent with an estimated human intake around 1.2 µg/kg body weight per day — and at those levels food-safety bodies (EFSA, JECFA, FEMA) regard it as low-risk. The load-bearing safety fact, and the reason this page carries a moderate rather than low toxicity flag, is the US National Toxicology Program 2-year gavage carcinogenicity bioassay (Technical Report TR-557). The NTP found clear evidence of carcinogenic activity of β-myrcene in male F344/N rats (renal-tubule neoplasms) and in male B6C3F1 mice (hepatocellular adenoma, carcinoma and hepatoblastoma), with equivocal evidence in females of both species, at oral doses of 0.25–1 g/kg five days a week (the top dose killed all the male rats) ^{13Reference 13National Toxicology Program · 2010AnimalNTP technical report on the toxicology and carcinogenesis studies of beta-myrcene (CAS NoView study →}. On that basis California’s OEHHA listed β-myrcene as a Proposition 65 carcinogen in 2015, and the FDA removed synthetic β-myrcene from its approved food-additive list in 2018 under the Delaney Clause — a legal trigger that bars any additive shown to induce cancer in animals, even though the agency stated it saw no genuine safety concern at flavouring intake.

Three points keep this in honest proportion. The bioassay doses are five to six orders of magnitude above dietary exposure; myrcene is non-genotoxic (negative Ames, negative in mammalian cells, in places even anti-mutagenic), so the tumours arise through high-dose, threshold-type mechanisms rather than direct DNA damage ^{1,13Reference 1Surendran S et al. · 2021ReviewMyrcene — What Are the Potential Health Benefits of This Flavouring and Aroma Agent? — reviewView study →Reference 13National Toxicology Program · 2010AnimalNTP technical report on the toxicology and carcinogenesis studies of beta-myrcene (CAS NoView study →}; and part of the male-rat kidney signal fits α2u-globulin nephropathy, a male-rat-specific process with no human counterpart. That last defence is incomplete, however: an NTP pathology re-analysis found an additional unusual dose-related nephrosis and concluded that α2u-globulin cannot be the sole mechanism of the renal carcinogenesis, and the mouse-liver tumours are a separate finding ^{14Reference 14Cesta MF et al. · 2013AnimalComplex histopathologic response in rat kidney to oral β-myrcene: an unusual dose-related nephrosis and low-dose alpha2u-globulin nephropathy — rat pathology analysisView study →}. The net read: at culinary and inhaled levels the risk is low, but concentrated myrcene is not a compound to consume in bulk, and the isolate is not “just a harmless terpene.”

Myrcene also has a reproductive- and developmental-toxicity literature, all in rats and all at high doses. Given orally on gestation days 6–15, β-myrcene caused maternal toxicity and embryo-foetotoxicity — skeletal retardation and anomalies — at 1.2 g/kg, with a NOAEL of 0.5 g/kg ^{15Reference 15Delgado IF et al. · 1993AnimalStudy on embryo-foetotoxicity of beta-myrcene in the rat — rat in vivo animal modelView study →}; in peri-/postnatal dosing it lowered birth weight, raised perinatal mortality and delayed developmental landmarks from 0.5 g/kg (NOAEL 0.25 g/kg) ^{16Reference 16Delgado IF et al. · 1993AnimalPeri- and postnatal developmental toxicity of beta-myrcene in the rat — rat in vivo animal modelView study →}; and a fertility study found increased resorptions and fetal skeletal anomalies at 0.5 g/kg (NOAEL 0.3 g/kg), with impaired fertility in female offspring at the highest doses ^{17Reference 17Paumgartten FJ et al. · 1998AnimalStudy of the effects of beta-myrcene on rat fertility and general reproductive performance — rat in vivo animal modelView study →}. These doses are far above any human exposure, but the signal is consistent and worth stating. For interactions, the clearest mechanistic flag is myrcene’s CYP450 inhibition and additive CNS depression: it potentiates barbiturate/pentobarbital sleep in rodents ^{1,8Reference 1Surendran S et al. · 2021ReviewMyrcene — What Are the Potential Health Benefits of This Flavouring and Aroma Agent? — reviewView study →Reference 8Gurgel do Vale T et al. · 2002AnimalCentral effects of citral, myrcene and limonene, constituents of essential oil chemotypes from Lippia alba — mouse in vivoView study →}, so additive sedation or slowed metabolism with barbiturates, benzodiazepines, alcohol or other CNS depressants is theoretically plausible — none documented in humans. Myrcene is also a recognised skin sensitiser/irritant that autoxidises on exposure to air and light to more allergenic products, so concentrated myrcene-rich oils should be stored cool and dark and diluted for topical use. No human interaction or contraindication dataset exists for the isolated molecule.

Dosage

There is no established human dose for isolated myrcene, and nothing here is a recommendation. Preclinical work spans a very wide range: antinociception at 10–20 mg/kg i.p. in mice ^{2Reference 2Rao VS et al. · 1990AnimalEffect of myrcene on nociception in mice — mouse in vivoView study →} and joint analgesia at 1–5 mg/kg locally in rats ^{4Reference 4McDougall JJ · 2022AnimalAnti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Properties of the Cannabis Terpene Myrcene in Rat Adjuvant Monoarthritis — rat in vivo animal modelView study →}; gastroprotection at 7.5 mg/kg orally in rats ^{10Reference 10Bonamin F et al. · 2014AnimalThe effect of a minor constituent of essential oil from Citrus aurantium: the role of β-myrcene in preventing peptic ulcer disease — rat in vivo animal modelView study →}; sedative/motor-relaxant effects at 100–200 mg/kg in mice ^{8Reference 8Gurgel do Vale T et al. · 2002AnimalCentral effects of citral, myrcene and limonene, constituents of essential oil chemotypes from Lippia alba — mouse in vivoView study →} and antioxidant/neuroprotective effects at 200 mg/kg ^{11Reference 11Ciftci O et al. · 2014AnimalNeuroprotective effects of β-myrcene following global cerebral ischemia/reperfusion-mediated oxidative and neuronal damage in a C57BL/J6 mouse — mouse in vivo animal modelView study →}; and the toxicology bioassays at 250–1,000 mg/kg ^{13Reference 13National Toxicology Program · 2010AnimalNTP technical report on the toxicology and carcinogenesis studies of beta-myrcene (CAS NoView study →}. Estimated dietary human intake of myrcene as a flavouring is around 1.2 µg/kg/day ^{1Reference 1Surendran S et al. · 2021ReviewMyrcene — What Are the Potential Health Benefits of This Flavouring and Aroma Agent? — reviewView study →} — millions of times below the rodent efficacy doses. Because oral bioavailability is undetermined and metabolism rapid and volatile, none of these figures translates to a human dose. These are doses studied in research and are not a personal recommendation.

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