CONSTITUENT REPORT
(E)-beta-Farnesene
(E)-beta-Farnesene is a sesquiterpene hydrocarbon best known as the major alarm pheromone in many aphid species and as a plant volatile involved in insect chemical ecology. In the AromaForge archive it also appears as a meaningful chamomile constituent, especially in German blue chamomile profiles. The live evidence is strong for identity, biosynthesis, and ecological signaling, but weak for human wellness use, so this record should stay focused on chemistry, aroma context, and semiochemical research rather than medical claims.
Chemical identity and composition
NIST lists (E)-beta-farnesene under CAS 18794-84-8 and names including trans-beta-farnesene. PubChem identifies beta-farnesene as C15H24, and Good Scents lists it as a flavor and fragrance agent with a woody odor and a fragrance-concentrate recommendation entry.
Aroma and practical use
- Use the recorded woody, green, fresh, herbaceous, citrus, sweet descriptors to explore a blend's scent character; perceived strength also depends on the other ingredients.
- Read the route, preparation and experimental context before using a study finding to choose an oil.
Reported benefits and effects
Findings retain their study context. An animal or laboratory result describes that experiment.
A 2022 Current Biology paper reported that aphid-predator hoverflies detect and are attracted to (E)-beta-farnesene, with receptor and odorant-binding-protein evidence supporting EBF sensing in both larvae and adults.
This is a strong constituent-specific ecology finding showing that beta-farnesene functions across more than one trophic level.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
A 2015 plant-biology study reported that tobacco engineered to express an (E)-beta-farnesene synthase emitted EBF, repelled green peach aphids, and attracted a parasitoid wasp in behavioral assays.
The study is useful for mechanism and agricultural context, but it is plant-insect systems research rather than human-use evidence.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
A 2025 Plant Science study in German chamomile reported that two beta-farnesene synthases catalyzed EBF formation and that aphid feeding upregulated their expression.
This directly supports the chamomile-archive relevance of beta-farnesene and ties constituent accumulation to identifiable biosynthetic genes.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
Use concerns and concentration limits
Sensitization concernNot flagged
Not flagged in the current model. This is not proof of absence or unrestricted safety.
Phototoxicity concernNot flagged
Not flagged in the current model. This is not proof of absence or unrestricted safety.
Oxidation concernNot flagged
Not flagged in the current model. This is not proof of absence or unrestricted safety.
Penetration enhancementNot flagged
Not flagged in the current model. This is not proof of absence or unrestricted safety.
No numeric constituent-specific use limit is available here. Missing is not an unrestricted-use clearance.
No human clinical safety study specific to isolated (E)-beta-farnesene was verified in this pass.
This reference does not establish a therapeutic result or a safe use level for a custom oil blend.
A RIFM fragrance safety assessment for bisabolene (CAS 495-62-5) reports beta-farnesene as a weight-of-evidence analog, not sensitizing in an LLNA up to 30% (NESIL 7500 ug/cm2). This analog citation supports non-sensitization but is not a dedicated beta-farnesene RIFM monograph.
The source assessment applies to its specified exposure and preparation; this entry is not an unrestricted-use clearance.
The Good Scents Company lists a fragrance-concentrate recommendation entry of 3.0000% for (E)-beta-farnesene, but that database entry should not be treated as a full finished-product safety assessment.
This reference does not establish a therapeutic result or a safe use level for a custom oil blend.
Because beta-farnesene is a highly unsaturated sesquiterpene hydrocarbon and the literature notes susceptibility to oxidation and volatility, handling and storage should be conservative.
This reference does not establish a therapeutic result or a safe use level for a custom oil blend.
Constituents it may interact with
These are research candidates recorded in the interaction matrix. They do not add a proven-amplification bonus to the score.
ChamazuleneAmplification candidate
Candidate in the research matrix. A coefficient alone does not establish amplification at the dose, route or goal of your blend; no proven amplification is inferred from this row.
in vitro · antioxidant
No source citation attached.
Read Chamazulene report →How the effects were investigated
olfactory semiochemical signaling
The best-supported mechanism is odor-mediated signaling through insect olfactory systems, where aphids, predators, and parasitoids respond behaviorally to emitted (E)-beta-farnesene.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
biosynthesis through specialized beta-farnesene synthases
Plant studies in chamomile and other species identify dedicated beta-farnesene synthases that accumulate or emit the sesquiterpene in response to developmental or biotic signals.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
What this report cannot establish
- A reported constituent percentage does not establish an effective human therapeutic dose or the amount absorbed into the body.
- The presence of a constituent does not guarantee a clinical benefit, rash treatment or sleep improvement from a custom blend.
- An unflagged concern or missing use limit does not establish safety for ingestion, inhalation, skin exposure or a particular person.
- A candidate constituent interaction does not establish that two oils amplify one another at the selected proportions.
- Constituent descriptors alone do not establish a precise top, heart or base lifetime in a finished blend.
Known data gaps (7)
- No constituent-specific human clinical efficacy or safety literature was verified for isolated (E)-beta-farnesene.
- Most strong evidence is agricultural or ecological rather than fragrance-use or wellness-use oriented.
- A richer public odor description source than current database entries was not verified in this pass.
- Safety-verification pass (2026-07-13, worker c5): no IFRA Standard or Tisserand isolated-constituent dermal limit was located for (E)-beta-farnesene; the prior uncited dermal_limit_pct of 25 has been corrected to null. sensitizing:false is retained on the strength of the existing RIFM bisabolene (CAS 495-62-5) weight-of-evidence analog citation already in this file (LLNA negative to 30%, NESIL 7500 ug/cm2), noted as analog rather than dedicated-monograph evidence.
- No constituent-specific numeric dermal reference is available here.
- Some findings do not record an explicit exposure route; consult the linked study before applying them to a use.
- Interaction candidates lack an attached source citation and remain unqualified.