Phellandrene

Phellandrene is a family name

Phellandrene commonly refers to alpha-phellandrene and beta-phellandrene, related cyclic monoterpenes. A report that gives only the family name may not identify the isomer. That detail matters more than an aroma-based label when the chemistry is being compared with a study.

Beta-phellandrene has a mixed toxicology record in models

A primary study used isolated beta-phellandrene in Ames mutagenicity tests, cell-viability and chromosome assays, and rodent experiments. It reported DNA-damage and mutation signals in some tests, while other chromosome-level results were negative. Those model-specific findings do not supply a clinical risk estimate or a cannabis-product result.

Alpha-phellandrene appeared in a different plant oil

Another plant-chemistry study found alpha-phellandrene was the principal constituent of an essential oil from Dacryodes peruviana. That is a result about one non-cannabis plant oil. It does not isolate alpha-phellandrene’s effect in a patient or make a cannabis sample equivalent to that oil.

A phellandrene entry needs its isomer and batch

If a laboratory report lists alpha- or beta-phellandrene, keep the isomer, concentration, extraction and assay method attached to the result. NHS medical-cannabis information provides the prescribed-product context, but the cited studies do not show a predictable response or a patient risk profile from a phellandrene-containing product.

Related conditions

• Fibromyalgia
• Arthritis and joint pain

Sources

• The research of genetic toxicity of β-phellandrene (primary animal and cell/laboratory toxicology study, PMID 28668705, DOI 10.1016/j.etap.2017.06.011).
• Extraction and study of the essential oil of copal (primary plant-chemistry and oil-assay study, PMID 33256174, DOI 10.3390/plants9121658).