Myrcene

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Introduction

Myrcene is the terpene that gives thyme, parsley and cardamom their characteristic taste/smell but it can also be found in many cannabis strains. Preclinical research indicates that myrcene can be therapeutic in many diseases. However, it must be noted that myrcene is only present in trace amounts (0.01-1%) in cannabis flowers which may not be enough to exert therapeutic effects on its own. Still myrcene may prove to be of therapeutic value at higher concentrations (extracts) or in combination with other cannabinoids and terpenes found in cannabis.

Chemical Name

7-Methyl-3-methylene-1,6-octadiene

Wikipedia Entry

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Diseases

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Literature Discussion

Preclinical research has shown myrcene to be therapeutic in the following diseases:

  • Antioxidant (Ciftci et al., 2011a)
  • Antioxidant skin UV-B protection (Hwang et al., 2017)
  • Cardioprotective in stroke model (Burcu et al., 2016)
  • Gastic and duodenal ulcers (Bonamin et al., 2014)
  • Immunomodulation (Ciftci et al., 2011b)(Uyeda et al., 2016)
  • Mosquito larvicidal (Vourlioti-Arapi et al., 2012)(Govindarajan et al., 2016)
  • Mosquito repellent (Hsu et al., 2013)(Govindarajan et al., 2016)
  • Neuropathic pain (Paula-Freire et al., 2016)
  • Neuroprotective in stroke model (Ciftci et al., 2014)

 

References:

Bonamin, F., Moraes, T.M., Dos Santos, R.C., Kushima, H., Faria, F.M., Silva, M.A., Junior, I.V., Nogueira, L., Bauab, T.M., Souza Brito, A.R.M., et al. (2014). The effect of a minor constituent of essential oil from Citrus aurantium: the role of β-myrcene in preventing peptic ulcer disease. Chem. Biol. Interact. 212, 11–19.

Burcu, G.B., Osman, C., Aslı, C., Namik, O.M., and Neşe, B.T. (2016). The protective cardiac effects of Β-myrcene after global cerebral ıschemia/reperfusion in C57BL/J6 mouse. Acta Cir. Bras. 31, 456–462.

Ciftci, O., Ozdemir, I., Tanyildizi, S., Yildiz, S., and Oguzturk, H. (2011a). Antioxidative effects of curcumin, β-myrcene and 1,8-cineole against 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin-induced oxidative stress in rats liver. Toxicol. Ind. Health 27, 447–453.

Ciftci, O., Tanyildizi, S., and Godekmerdan, A. (2011b). Curcumin, myrecen and cineol modulate the percentage of lymphocyte subsets altered by 2,3,7, 8-tetracholorodibenzo-p-dioxins (TCDD) in rats. Hum. Exp. Toxicol. 30, 1986–1994.

Ciftci, O., Oztanir, M.N., and Cetin, A. (2014). Neuroprotective effects of β-myrcene following global cerebral ischemia/reperfusion-mediated oxidative and neuronal damage in a C57BL/J6 mouse. Neurochem. Res. 39, 1717–1723.

Govindarajan, M., Rajeswary, M., Arivoli, S., Tennyson, S., and Benelli, G. (2016). Larvicidal and repellent potential of Zingiber nimmonii (J. Graham) Dalzell (Zingiberaceae) essential oil: an eco-friendly tool against Malaria, dengue, and lymphatic filariasis mosquito vectors? Parasitol. Res. 115, 1807–1816.

Hsu, W.-S., Yen, J.-H., and Wang, Y.-S. (2013). Formulas of components of citronella oil against mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti). J. Environ. Sci. Health B 48, 1014–1019.

Hwang, E., Ngo, H.T.T., Park, B., Seo, S.-A., Yang, J.-E., and Yi, T.-H. (2017). Myrcene, an Aromatic Volatile Compound, Ameliorates Human Skin Extrinsic Aging via Regulation of MMPs Production. Am. J. Chin. Med. 45, 1113–1124.

Paula-Freire, L.I.G., Molska, G.R., Andersen, M.L., and Carlini, E.L. de A. (2016). Ocimum gratissimum Essential Oil and Its Isolated Compounds (Eugenol and Myrcene) Reduce Neuropathic pain in Mice. Planta Med. 82, 211–216.

Uyeda, S., Sharmin, T., Satho, T., Irie, K., Watanabe, M., Hosokawa, M., Hiramatsu, Y., Koga, T., Nakashima, Y., Kashige, N., et al. (2016). Enhancement and regulation effect of myrcene on antibody response in immunization with ovalbumin and Ag85B in mice. Asian Pac. J. Allergy Immunol. 34, 314–323.

Vourlioti-Arapi, F., Michaelakis, A., Evergetis, E., Koliopoulos, G., and Haroutounian, S.A. (2012). Essential oils of indigenous in Greece six Juniperus taxa: chemical composition and larvicidal activity against the West Nile virus vector Culex pipiens. Parasitol. Res. 110, 1829–1839.