Last updated on August 11, 2026 · Originally published March 23, 2017
Terpinolene is the terpene that defines a particular kind of cannabis. Jack Herer, Durban Poison, Super Lemon Haze, Golden Goat — the cultivars sold as bright, clear and suited to daytime tend to be the ones where terpinolene shows up near the top of the certificate.
So it is worth knowing that the isolated-compound research points in the opposite direction: terpinolene reduced activity in mice, while a small human EEG study found patterns associated with relaxation.
What it is
Terpinolene, sometimes written δ-terpinene, belongs to a family of isomers that also includes α-, β- and γ-terpinene. All four share the molecular formula C₁₀H₁₆ and the same carbon skeleton, differing only in where the double bonds sit — the same relationship phellandrene has with its own isomers, and the same reason the distinction matters when reading research.
Molecular mass: 136.23 g/mol
Boiling point: 185–186 °C
The aroma is usually described as woody and faintly smoky, often with a citrus edge and something piney underneath. It is one of the harder terpenes to pick out by nose, partly because it is rarely present at a very high absolute concentration and partly because “woody with citrus” describes a good deal of cannabis.
It is also common well beyond cannabis — citrus peel, nutmeg, sage, rosemary, juniper, cumin, tea tree and conifers all carry it, which is why it turns up in perfumery, soaps and insect repellents.
Terpinolene can be produced industrially by rearranging α-pinene obtained from turpentine, and α-terpineol can be made from the same starting material — although cannabis biosynthesises both compounds from geranyl diphosphate through terpene-synthase enzymes, rather than making one from the other.
The sedative problem
Here is the part worth sitting with.
A 2013 study tested inhaled terpinolene in mice and found a sedative effect, then examined which structural features appeared responsible. It was a small animal study, and reduced movement in mice is not a straightforward guide to human experience.
There is also one small human experiment. In 2015, researchers recorded EEG activity in 18 participants exposed to terpinolene. They observed changes associated with reduced tension and increased relaxation and stability. EEG patterns are not the same thing as feeling sedated, and the experiment tells us nothing about the effects of terpinolene-containing cannabis. Even so, both isolated-compound studies point away from stimulation rather than toward it.
That sits oddly with how terpinolene-dominant cultivars are marketed. Jack Herer and Durban Poison are not sold as sleep aids.
There are a few honest ways to hold this. The cultivars in question contain a great deal else — THC first, then a full terpene profile in which terpinolene remains only one component. Whatever produces the reported effect need not be the marker compound. It is also possible that neither result transfers to cannabis, where the dose, delivery and surrounding chemistry are very different.
What does not appear to exist is direct evidence that terpinolene is energising. The limited isolated-compound research points the other way.
What else has been tested
The rest of the terpinolene literature is preclinical and scattered, but some of it is more interesting than the aroma-and-strains framing suggests.
Neuroblastoma cells. A 2013 study found that terpinolene reduced the viability of rat N2a neuroblastoma cells in culture, while also testing its effects on primary rat neurons. The authors described it as a potentially useful antiproliferative compound. That was one cell-line experiment, not evidence that terpinolene treats brain cancer in animals or people.
Inflammation and wound healing. In a 2016 rat study, low doses of terpinolene and diclofenac produced anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects when given together, although the study did not establish what terpinolene would do alone at an effective dose. A 2019 cell study found that terpinolene increased fibroblast migration and proliferation while reducing several markers of inflammation and oxidative stress. More recently, a 2023 mouse study reported anti-inflammatory activity from terpinolene itself against several experimentally induced responses.
None of that is clinical evidence. It does, however, correct the claim made in earlier versions of this article — and repeated widely elsewhere — that terpinolene is not anti-inflammatory.
Terpinolene has also been examined for antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, almost entirely in laboratory models. A 2021 systematic review gathered the in silico, in vitro and in vivo work together. It found several biological activities worth investigating, but no clinical evidence establishing a therapeutic use in people.
In cannabis
Terpinolene occurs in many cannabis samples but is less commonly the dominant terpene than myrcene, limonene or β-caryophyllene. A recognisable minority of cultivars, however, produces profiles in which it ranks first — and those are the ones it gets its reputation from.
The cultivars most often associated with it are Jack Herer, Durban Poison, Super Lemon Haze and Golden Goat. Those are reported associations rather than fixed properties — a strain name guarantees nothing about a particular batch, and terpinolene content varies with genetics, growing conditions and everything that happens between harvest and the jar.
Which is the more useful takeaway than any effects claim. If you want to know whether the material in front of you contains terpinolene, the certificate of analysis will tell you. What that means for how terpinolene-containing cannabis feels remains unanswered. The closest isolated-compound experiments, however, point toward relaxation rather than stimulation.
For the wider context, see our guide to cannabis terpenes.
Reviewed by Nani Frenkel, Chief Editor
Updated August 10, 2026. This article was substantially expanded and incorporates material from “Some Things to Know About Terpinolene” by Asia Mayfield, published July 23, 2021. The claim that terpinolene is not anti-inflammatory has been corrected, along with the boiling point and the description of the terpinene isomer family.
Originally published March 23, 2017
References
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- Russo EB, Marcu J. Cannabis pharmacology: the usual suspects and a few promising leads. In: Advances in Pharmacology. 2017:67–134. doi:10.1016/bs.apha.2017.03.004
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- Sowndhararajan K, Cho H, Yu B, Kim S. Effect of olfactory stimulation of isomeric aroma compounds, (+)-limonene and terpinolene, on human electroencephalographic activity. Eur J Integr Med. 2015;7(6):561–566. doi:10.1016/j.eujim.2015.08.006
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- Macedo EMA, et al. Association of terpinolene and diclofenac presents antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory synergistic effects in a model of chronic inflammation. Braz J Med Biol Res. 2016;49(7):e5103. doi:10.1590/1414-431X20165103
- de Christo Scherer MM, et al. Wound healing activity of terpinolene and α-phellandrene by attenuating inflammation and oxidative stress in vitro. J Tissue Viability. 2019;28(2):94–99. doi:10.1016/j.jtv.2019.02.003
- Menezes IO, et al. Biological properties of terpinolene evidenced by in silico, in vitro and in vivo studies: a systematic review. Phytomedicine. 2021;93:153768. doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2021.153768
- Menezes IO, et al. Terpinolene inhibits acute responses triggered by different inflammatory agents in vivo models of mouse. Food Biosci. 2023;53:102621. doi:10.1016/j.fbio.2023.102621
