Cyperotundone is a sesquiterpene ketone closely associated with Cyperus oils, especially cypriol and Cyperus rotundus root chemistry. Its evidence base is meaningfully stronger than that of many trace aroma constituents: identity and occurrence are well supported by PubChem, NIST, and repeated Cyperus composition papers, while direct isolated-compound studies report pest repellency, insecticidal activity, and cancer-cell chemosensitization signals in preclinical models. Those studies do not justify medical or consumer benefit claims, but they do support describing cyperotundone as a prominent Cyperus marker constituent with a more active preclinical literature than many sesquiterpene ketones in the archive.
Chemical identity and composition
PubChem identifies cyperotundone as C15H22O. In the local archive's cypriol and nagarmotha oil records, cyperotundone is one of the two lead chemotype markers and is reported at 3.1% to 26.8% across the comparative Indian nagarmotha dataset. Review literature on Cyperus rotundus also repeatedly lists cyperotundone among the recurring major sesquiterpene ketones of the genus.
Aroma and practical use
- Use the recorded woody, earthy, spicy, cypriol-like 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.
repellent activity against tribolium confusum
A 2025 study reported that cyperotundone maintained significant repellent activity against Tribolium confusum for up to 24 hours at the tested higher concentration and outperformed DEET at several later timepoints and lower doses, with longer-lasting activity than cyperene.
Measured: repellent persistence and comparison with DEET
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
insecticidal activity against aphids and mealybugs
A 2024 Pest Management Science paper isolated cyperotundone from Cyperus rotundus root oil and reported promising toxicity against Aphis craccivora, efficacy against Planococcus lilacinus, and significant acetylcholinesterase and glutathione-S-transferase inhibition at all tested cyperotundone concentrations.
Measured: LD50, efficacy, and enzyme inhibition readouts
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
breast cancer chemosensitization
A 2023 Scientific Reports study found that cyperotundone combined with adriamycin inhibited MCF-7 and MCF-7/ADR cell activity, caused apoptosis and G0/G1 arrest, and suppressed tumor development in breast cancer-bearing nude mice.
Measured: cell viability, apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and in vivo tumor suppression
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
drug resistant breast cancer models
A 2025 Frontiers in Pharmacology paper reported that cyperotundone suppressed growth of breast-cancer cells without affecting normal cells in the tested systems, induced apoptosis, reduced migration and invasion of drug-resistant cells, and enhanced doxorubicin sensitivity alongside reduced SRSF1 signaling.
Measured: growth, apoptosis, migration, invasion, stemness markers, and chemosensitivity
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 dedicated IFRA standard or RIFM fragrance safety assessment specific to isolated cyperotundone was located 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.
The strongest directly accessible cyperotundone literature is preclinical and includes oncology and pest-model work; these findings should not be translated into medical or consumer efficacy claims.
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.
Public vendor and fragrance-reference pages often present cyperotundone as a research material, which supports conservative handling and claim language.
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
ros nrf2 are axis modulation
A 2023 breast-cancer study reported that cyperotundone combined with adriamycin induced apoptosis and G0/G1 arrest in MCF-7 and MCF-7/ADR systems through ROS generation and NRF2/ARE-related signaling.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
srsf1 myo1b splicing related chemosensitization
A 2025 Frontiers paper reported that cyperotundone reduced SRSF1 and affected MYO1B-related alternative splicing in drug-resistant breast-cancer cells, coinciding with restored chemosensitivity.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
olfactory and enzyme level repellent signal
In Tribolium confusum, cyperotundone's repellent activity was linked in the study to altered odorant receptor gene expression and reduced acetylcholinesterase and glutathione-S-transferase activity after exposure to the oil and its main compounds.
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 cyperotundone were located in the reviewed public sources.
- The most prominent accessible cyperotundone studies are preclinical oncology and pest-biology papers, which limits consumer-facing inference.
- No constituent-specific dermal limit, sensitization review, or phototoxicity guidance was located for isolated cyperotundone.
- Follow-up web search (2026-07-11) found that cypriol/Cyperus oil overall is described as rarely sensitizing at cosmetic concentrations (0.5-3%) per general aromatherapy safety commentary (beautyscicomm.com; whollykaw.com); no cyperotundone-specific RIFM assessment or IFRA Standard was found. dermal_limit_pct (2) and dermal_limit_verified (false) are left unchanged as an unverified placeholder.
- Worker c8 search (2026-07-13): literature on cyperotundone (CAS 3466-15-7) is limited to chemical-supplier listings and an antiviral (influenza A, IC50 0.45 uM) research paper; no dermal safety, sensitization, or phototoxicity data located. Prior dermal_limit_pct:2 was an unsupported placeholder and has 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.