Subclass of Terpenoids

Sesquiterpenes

Fifteen-carbon terpenes giving woody, spicy essential-oil notes; often anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial.

Overview

About Sesquiterpenes

Sesquiterpenes are the fifteen-carbon terpenes, assembled from three isoprene units. The extra unit over a monoterpene makes them heavier, less volatile and more structurally varied — this is the most skeletally diverse terpene class known, with hundreds of distinct carbon frameworks described.

In an essential oil they are the base notes: the woody, spicy, balsamic depth that lingers after the bright top notes have flashed off. They also tend to be the anti-inflammatory fraction.

Where Sesquiterpenes Occur

They are widespread, but concentrate in resins, woods, roots and the oleoresins of warm-climate plants:

Chamomile

chamazulene and bisabolol

Ginger and turmeric (Zingiberaceae)

zingiberene, the turmerones

Myrrh and frankincense resins

furanoeudesmanes, curzerene

Valerian root

valerenic acid and the valeranones

Patchouli, vetiver, sandalwood

the classic heavy perfume woods

Cannabis and hops

beta-caryophyllene, humulene

Pharmacological Importance

Anti-inflammatory activity is the group's signature. Bisabolol and chamazulene account for much of chamomile's soothing reputation, and beta-caryophyllene is unusual among plant compounds in being a selective CB2 cannabinoid-receptor agonist — a dietary cannabinoid that carries no psychoactivity.

Beyond that, the class supplies antimicrobial and antifungal constituents, the bitter digestive principles of several roots, and — through the sesquiterpene lactones treated separately below — a good part of the daisy family's pharmacology.

Toxicity & Safety

Excluding the lactone-bearing subgroup, sesquiterpenes are generally well tolerated and several are cleared as food flavourings.

The usual essential-oil cautions apply — skin sensitization from neat application, and the wide gap between a herbal dose and a concentrated-oil dose. Individual members warrant their own reading rather than a blanket class judgement.

Constituents

All Sesquiterpenes

88 total Filter sesquiterpenes

2-Acetoxyfuranodiene 1 herb 2-Methoxyfuranodiene 1 herb 9-Deoxymuzigadial 1 herb

Acetoxyvalerenic acid 1 herb Acorone 1 herb Allo-aromadendrene 1 herb alpha-Bisabolene 1 herb alpha-Bisabolol oxide A 1 herb alpha-Bisabolol oxide B 1 herb Alpha-Cadinol 1 herb alpha-copaene 3 herbs Alpha-elemene 1 herb alpha-Farnesene 2 herbs Alpha-guaiene 1 herb Alpha-muurolene 1 herb alpha-turmerone 1 herb alpha-zingiberene 1 herb ar-turmerone 1 herb Aromadendrene 1 herb Artemisinic acid 1 herb

Beta-bisabolene 1 herb beta-Bourbonene 1 herb beta-Elemene 1 herb Beta-eudesmol 1 herb

Open in filterable index

Source Plants

Herbs Containing Sesquiterpenes

63 herbs

Plants in the materia medica documented to carry sesquiterpenes, with the compounds each one is listed for. The bar counts how many DISTINCT sesquiterpenes are on record for a plant, relative to the best-documented — it measures breadth of record, not potency, so a plant with one well-studied compound can outrank a richer source that has simply been analysed less. Where a measured concentration is on record it is quoted inline; most entries have none yet.