gamma-Gurjunene is a sesquiterpene hydrocarbon best supported in the AromaForge archive as a chemistry-defining marker of katrafay and other sesquiterpene-rich oils. Public evidence strongly supports its identity and repeated occurrence, while direct constituent-level pharmacology remains sparse. Archive-safe positioning is therefore as an aroma and composition marker with a few mixture-level antimicrobial or cosmetic-bioactivity contexts and an explicit gap around isolated human-use safety or efficacy data.
Chemical identity and composition
PubChem REST data identifies gamma-Gurjunene as CID 15560285 with formula C15H24 and the IUPAC name (1R,3aR,4R,7R)-1,4-dimethyl-7-prop-1-en-2-yl-1,2,3,3a,4,5,6,7-octahydroazulene. PubChem synonym data supports CAS 22567-17-5 and the alternative name tau-gurjunene. In the local archive, the clearest direct occurrence is katrafay bark oil, where a public Nature's Gift GC-MS report lists gamma-gurjunene as the dominant constituent at 24.68%.
Aroma and practical use
- Use the recorded woody, dry, sweet, terpenic 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.
dominant occurrence in katrafay
A directly readable Nature's Gift GC-MS report for Cedrelopsis grevei bark oil lists gamma-gurjunene at 24.68%, supporting its role as a dominant katrafay marker constituent.
Measured: relative abundance
This reference does not establish a therapeutic result or a safe use level for a custom oil blend.
peucedanum tauricum occurrence
A Europe PMC abstract reports gamma-gurjunene at 5.6% in Peucedanum tauricum fruit oil, reinforcing that the constituent occurs as a substantial sesquiterpene in more than one botanical system.
Measured: constituent abundance
This reference does not establish a therapeutic result or a safe use level for a custom oil blend.
biosynthetic co product ratio
A Europe PMC abstract states that alpha-gurjunene synthase activity from Solidago canadensis consistently yielded a 91% to 9% product ratio of (-)-alpha-gurjunene to (+)-gamma-gurjunene, supporting direct biosynthetic formation of gamma-gurjunene.
Measured: enzyme product distribution
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
mixture level antimicrobial context
A Europe PMC abstract on Emilia sonchifolia essential oil reported gamma-gurjunene at 8.58% and described antimicrobial activity with MIC values from 156 to 625 microg/mL, but the activity was measured for the whole oil rather than isolated gamma-gurjunene.
Measured: minimum inhibitory concentrations against bacteria and fungi
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 human clinical safety study, isolated-constituent dermal limit, or public RIFM assessment specific to gamma-gurjunene 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.
The available bioactivity context is mostly whole-oil and cannot establish safe or effective standalone use of isolated gamma-gurjunene.
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 gamma-gurjunene is a lipophilic sesquiterpene hydrocarbon with limited direct toxicology coverage, whole-oil safety context should not be over-generalized to isolated constituent use.
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
shared gurjunene synthase product
A mechanistic terpene-biosynthesis study reported that alpha-gurjunene synthase from Solidago canadensis consistently formed both (-)-alpha-gurjunene and (+)-gamma-gurjunene, supporting a shared cyclization pathway for gamma-gurjunene biosynthesis.
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 (6)
- No strong isolated-compound human or animal efficacy paper specific to gamma-gurjunene was verified in this pass.
- No verified constituent-specific dermal limit, sensitization data, or phototoxicity study was found.
- Most accessible biological activity evidence remains mixture-level and does not isolate gamma-gurjunene as the sole active driver.
- 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.