CONSTITUENT REPORT
gamma-Himachalene
gamma-Himachalene is one of the signature cedarwood sesquiterpene hydrocarbons found most clearly in Atlas and Himalayan cedar oils. Public evidence strongly supports its identity and repeated occurrence, while direct standalone pharmacology is sparse. For AromaForge, gamma-himachalene is best presented as a cedar chemistry marker with limited constituent-specific functional evidence, plus a small amount of chemical-ecology literature suggesting roles in insect-attraction or volatile-signaling systems.
Chemical identity and composition
PubChem REST data identifies gamma-Himachalene as CID 577062 with formula C15H24 and the IUPAC name 2,5,9,9-tetramethyl-3,4,4a,7,8,9a-hexahydrobenzo[7]annulene. PubChem synonyms and The Good Scents Company support CAS 53111-25-4. In the local archive, gamma-himachalene is repeatedly reported in Atlas cedarwood, Himalayan cedarwood, and hiba wood profiles, confirming it as a real marker of himachalene-rich wood oils rather than a one-off trace constituent.
Aroma and practical use
- Use the recorded woody, dry, cedar-like, resinous, resin 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.
atlas cedarwood major occurrence
A full-text Atlas cedarwood composition paper reports gamma-himachalene at 13.00%, supporting its role as one of the dominant sesquiterpene hydrocarbons in Cedrus atlantica oil.
Measured: relative abundance
This reference does not establish a therapeutic result or a safe use level for a custom oil blend.
himalayan cedarwood major occurrence
A Europe PMC abstract on Cedrus deodara wood-chip oil reports gamma-himachalene at 12.6%, alongside higher beta-himachalene and alpha-himachalene, confirming its place in the canonical Himalayan cedar profile.
Measured: relative abundance
This reference does not establish a therapeutic result or a safe use level for a custom oil blend.
cedrus atlantica chemotype variability
A Europe PMC abstract surveying 48 Corsican Cedrus atlantica wood oils reports gamma-himachalene up to 11.0%, showing that the constituent remains a recurring chemotype anchor across multiple natural samples.
Measured: observed abundance range across samples
This reference does not establish a therapeutic result or a safe use level for a custom oil blend.
insect electrophysiology context
A Europe PMC abstract reports gamma-himachalene among compounds present in all tested Swietenia macrophylla essential oils and also in active Cedrela odorata and Toona ciliata oils, suggesting a role in Hypsipyla grandella host-location or oviposition-related volatile signaling.
Measured: association with antennally active host oils
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 verified standalone human safety study, isolated-constituent dermal limit, or public RIFM assessment for gamma-himachalene was located in this pass.
This reference does not establish a therapeutic result or a safe use level for a custom oil blend.
No direct public citation is attached to this entry.
Most accessible benefit-style evidence in cedarwood literature concerns whole oils or transformed himachalene derivatives, not isolated gamma-himachalene itself.
This reference does not establish a therapeutic result or a safe use level for a custom oil blend.
No direct public citation is attached to this entry.
Whole-oil cedarwood IFRA or supplier limits should not be treated as direct proof of isolated gamma-himachalene safety.
This reference does not establish a therapeutic result or a safe use level for a custom oil blend.
No direct public citation is attached to this entry.
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.
alpha-AtlantoneAmplification 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 · whole_oil
No source citation attached.
Read alpha-Atlantone report →How the effects were investigated
volatile signal in insect host location
A Journal of Chemical Ecology abstract reports gamma-himachalene among compounds present in active host-plant essential oils that elicited antennal responses in the mahogany shoot borer Hypsipyla grandella, supporting a volatile-signaling role in chemical ecology.
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 human clinical studies specific to isolated gamma-himachalene were located in the reviewed public sources.
- No authoritative constituent-specific dermal limit, sensitization review, or phototoxicity study was verified in this pass.
- The accessible functional literature is mostly chemical-ecology or whole-oil composition work rather than direct isolated-compound pharmacology.
- 2026-07-13 verification pass: web search for IFRA/RIFM dermal limit and sensitization data found no authoritative constituent-specific results; prior dermal_limit_pct (25) and sensitizing (true) were unsourced placeholders and have been corrected to null.
- 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.