Bulnesol is a woody sesquiterpene alcohol best known in the AromaForge archive as a major guaiacwood constituent and a recurrent marker in blue cypress-type oils. Public evidence is strong for identity and occurrence, but much thinner for isolated-constituent pharmacology in humans. The most usable direct literature found in this pass covers biosynthesis and a few preclinical antifungal or acaricidal signals, so archive copy should keep bulnesol framed as a chemistry-forward woody constituent rather than a validated wellness-active.
Chemical identity and composition
PubChem and NIST both resolve bulnesol as a C15H26O oxygenated sesquiterpene alcohol with a guaiane/azulene-related skeleton. Local oil records place it as a dominant marker in guaiacwood Paraguay at 40.54% and as a notable constituent in blue cypress at 8.43%, consistent with its role in dense woody base-note profiles.
Aroma and practical use
- Use the recorded woody, spicy, dry, balsamic 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 2021 potato study characterized StBUS/ELS as a defense-responsive bulnesol/elemol synthase and showed that bulnesol production was linked to pathogen and methyl-jasmonate induction, with thermal rearrangement to elemol at higher GC injection temperatures.
A 2021 potato study characterized StBUS/ELS as a defense-responsive bulnesol/elemol synthase and showed that bulnesol production was linked to pathogen and methyl-jasmonate induction, with thermal rearrangement to elemol at higher GC injection temperatures.
This reference does not establish a therapeutic result or a safe use level for a custom oil blend.
A 2022 bioassay-guided isolation paper identified bulnesol among the sesquiterpenoids with higher antifungal activity against Laetiporus sulphureus and Lenzites betulina from Michelia formosana leaf essential oil.
A 2022 bioassay-guided isolation paper identified bulnesol among the sesquiterpenoids with higher antifungal activity against Laetiporus sulphureus and Lenzites betulina from Michelia formosana leaf essential oil.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
A 2021 tick-control study reported that Bulnesia sarmientoi essential oil and its tested major components guaiol and bulnesol caused the highest mortality rates among the evaluated materials in several Rhipicephalus tick populations.
A 2021 tick-control study reported that Bulnesia sarmientoi essential oil and its tested major components guaiol and bulnesol caused the highest mortality rates among the evaluated materials in several Rhipicephalus tick populations.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
A 2024 Anaxagorea luzonensis volatile-compound paper reported bulnesol at 34.1% and used docking plus RAW264.7 assays to suggest anti-inflammatory potential for the whole volatile mixture, but that evidence does not isolate bulnesol as a validated stand-alone anti-inflammatory agent.
A 2024 Anaxagorea luzonensis volatile-compound paper reported bulnesol at 34.1% and used docking plus RAW264.7 assays to suggest anti-inflammatory potential for the whole volatile mixture, but that evidence does not isolate bulnesol as a validated stand-alone anti-inflammatory agent.
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.
No numeric constituent-specific use limit is available here. Missing is not an unrestricted-use clearance.
No constituent-specific human safety study, IFRA restriction, or dermal limit for isolated bulnesol was verified in the reviewed public sources.
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 activity literature is dominated by plant-defense, fungal-decay, and arthropod-control contexts, archive language should avoid implying established human benefit or topical 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
No constituent-pair interaction is recorded for this identity. The report does not assume either amplification or incompatibility.
How the effects were investigated
defense linked plant biosynthesis
A potato terpene-synthase paper identified a defense-responsive bulnesol/elemol synthase induced by bacterial challenge, fungal challenge, and methyl jasmonate treatment, linking bulnesol biosynthesis to plant defense chemistry rather than human pharmacology.
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.
hydroxyisopropyl group and antifungal signal
A Michelia formosana leaf-oil study suggested that active sesquiterpenoids including bulnesol shared a hydroxyisopropyl-bearing structure and showed stronger antifungal activity against one wood-decay fungus than another.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
No direct public citation is attached to this entry.
no human validated target
No constituent-specific human molecular target or clinical mechanism for isolated bulnesol 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.
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 human clinical studies specific to isolated bulnesol were located in the reviewed public sources.
- Most direct bulnesol evidence is limited to plant-defense, antifungal, or arthropod-control models rather than human biology.
- Constituent-specific sensitization, phototoxicity, and topical-use-limit data were not verified in this pass.
- No IFRA Standard, Tisserand monograph, or RIFM safety assessment specific to Bulnesol (CAS 22451-73-6) was located; a RIFM assessment for guaiacwood acetate (CAS 61789-17-1), a different, esterified compound, was found in search results and is explicitly excluded here as a mismatch rather than misapplied to bulnesol. sensitizing:true has been corrected to null (unsupported guess) pending real citation.
- 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.