alpha-Teresantalic acid is a terpenoid carboxylic acid best known as a minor natural product marker in sandalwood chemistry and, within the AromaForge archive, as a notable reported constituent in opoponax records. Public evidence is much stronger for identity and occurrence than for standalone bioactivity or safety research. This makes it useful for authenticity and composition context, but current archive copy should state plainly that constituent-specific pharmacology data remain very limited.
Chemical identity and composition
PubChem and NIST map alpha-teresantalic acid to C10H14O2 with InChIKey QHDPITNBVDSMQH-UHFFFAOYSA-N and CAS 562-66-3, although PubChem's title rendering is less clean than the common name. KNApSAcK and multiple GC-MS references place the constituent in Santalum album, generally as a minor sandalwood marker, while the archive's opoponax records currently list a much larger 4.01% value that should be read as material-specific composition data rather than a universal norm.
Aroma and practical use
- Use the recorded low-odor, woody-context marker, sandalwood-linked 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.
KNApSAcK and related natural-products databases list alpha-teresantalic acid as a metabolite of Santalum album, supporting its status as a real plant constituent with sandalwood association.
KNApSAcK and related natural-products databases list alpha-teresantalic acid as a metabolite of Santalum album, supporting its status as a real plant constituent with sandalwood association.
This reference does not establish a therapeutic result or a safe use level for a custom oil blend.
Recent sandalwood GC-MS reports continue to detect alpha-teresantalic acid as a low-level constituent, typically around hundredths of a percent, reinforcing its practical use as an analytical composition marker rather than a dominant odor driver.
Recent sandalwood GC-MS reports continue to detect alpha-teresantalic acid as a low-level constituent, typically around hundredths of a percent, reinforcing its practical use as an analytical composition marker rather than a dominant odor driver.
This reference does not establish a therapeutic result or a safe use level for a custom oil 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.
A recorded constituent reference, not a recommended oil dilution. Product category, source applicability and all contributing oils must be checked before use.
unverified reference · No source provenance attachedNo authoritative constituent-specific dermal, inhalation, phototoxicity, or human toxicology dossier was verified 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.
Because the accessible evidence is mainly identity and occurrence data, any wellness or therapeutic framing would overstate the record and should be avoided.
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
No constituent-pair interaction is recorded for this identity. The report does not assume either amplification or incompatibility.
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 (6)
- No constituent-specific mechanism or pharmacology paper strong enough for a non-empty mechanism section was verified in this pass.
- The archive's opoponax value of 4.01% is much higher than the minor sandalwood occurrences found in public GC-MS references, so additional confirmation from future opoponax analyses would be valuable.
- This pass did not verify a human safety record, regulatory monograph, or direct sensory paper focused on isolated alpha-teresantalic acid.
- 2026-07-13 re-verification (worker c3): a targeted search for dermal safety/sensitization data on alpha-teresantalic acid (CAS 562-66-3) returned only identity databases (PubChem, NIST, COCONUT); no authoritative safety source located, dermal_limit_verified remains false.
- The numeric dermal reference lacks source provenance; a verified flag alone is insufficient.
- Some findings do not record an explicit exposure route; consult the linked study before applying them to a use.