Isopimpinellin is a low-volatility furanocoumarin better understood in AromaForge as a citrus safety and chemistry marker than as a major odor driver. Live sources support firm identity data, occurrence in expressed lime oils, and a small but active preclinical literature around xenobiotic-metabolism modulation, DNA-adduct suppression, matrix-metalloproteinase signaling, and inflammatory disease models. The safety picture is more mixed than for bergapten: one older chick-skin assay reported isopimpinellin was not phototoxic when purified, so current archive copy should keep both the furanocoumarin context and the uncertainty explicit rather than assuming bergapten-like phototoxic behavior.
Chemical identity and composition
PubChem and NIST identify isopimpinellin as C13H10O5 with InChIKey DFMAXQKDIGCMTL-UHFFFAOYSA-N. NIST lists CAS 482-27-9 and direct naming variants including isopimpinellin and 5,8-dimethoxypsoralen. Local oil files for expressed lime and Persian lime list this constituent with CAS 482-44-0, but the live identity sources reviewed for this pass consistently resolve the constituent itself to 482-27-9, so the constituent record follows the PubChem and NIST identity assignment.
Aroma and practical use
- Use the recorded faint, bitter, dry, coumarinic descriptors to explore a blend's scent character; perceived strength also depends on the other ingredients.
- Review the flagged use concerns across every contributing oil and the selected dilution.
- 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 2002 SENCAR-mouse study found orally administered isopimpinellin reduced DMBA-DNA adduct formation by 23%, 56%, and 69% at 35, 70, and 150 mg/kg, and reduced papillomas per mouse by 49%, 73%, and 78% in the initiation model.
The same abstract reported no major renal, hepatic-function, or clotting abnormalities at the tested doses, although liver weight and hepatocyte vacuolation increased.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
A 2001 mouse tissue study found oral isopimpinellin inhibited EROD and PROD activity in several tissues, increased liver GST activity, and reduced DNA adduct levels in liver, lung, and mammary epithelial cells after carcinogen exposure.
These data support a metabolism-modulating mechanism rather than a simple direct antioxidant explanation.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
A 2024 human-dermal-fibroblast paper reported that isopimpinellin decreased UVA-induced ROS and reduced MMP-1, MMP-3, and MMP-9 overproduction while suppressing MAPK/AP-1 signaling.
The authors also reported attenuation of UVA-related TIMP suppression, but the study remains a cell model and should not be translated into direct skin-benefit claims.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
A 1996 chick-skin assay reported that purified synthetic isopimpinellin was not phototoxic and suggested earlier positive reports may have reflected contamination with more photoactive psoralens such as bergapten or xanthotoxin.
This creates an important caution against assuming that every furanocoumarin behaves like bergapten in isolated testing.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
A 2025 mouse study in colitis-associated colon cancer reported that oral isopimpinellin protected colon tissue, reduced inflammation and tumor burden, and linked the effect to ALOX5-mediated macrophage polarization changes.
This is newer and more mechanistic than the older chemoprevention papers, but it is still an animal disease model.
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 concernFlagged
Flagged in the constituent reference; assess the source, route and finished-product concentration.
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 attachedIsopimpinellin belongs to the furanocoumarin class and appears in expressed lime oils that are handled as phototoxic at the oil level, but direct isolated-constituent phototoxicity evidence is mixed rather than definitive.
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 1996 chick-skin paper reported purified isopimpinellin was not phototoxic, so archive copy should distinguish between oil-level citrus phototoxic handling and isolated-constituent certainty.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
No direct public citation is attached to this entry.
Older mouse chemoprevention studies reported increased liver weight and hepatocyte vacuolation at tested oral doses even when standard renal and hepatic-function markers did not shift significantly.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this 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
suppression of MAPK/AP-1 signaling with reduced MMP overexpression after UVA challenge
The 2024 fibroblast paper links isopimpinellin to lower ROS, lower MMP-1/MMP-3/MMP-9 protein levels, and reduced c-Fos/c-Jun phosphorylation under UVA stress.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
alteration of xenobiotic metabolism through phase I and phase II enzyme modulation
Mouse studies found isopimpinellin changed EROD, PROD, and GST activity patterns and reduced PAH-related DNA adduct formation in multiple tissues.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
ALOX5-linked effects on macrophage polarization in colitis-associated cancer models
The 2025 murine colon-cancer paper attributes anti-inflammatory and antitumor readouts partly to the isopimpinellin-ALOX5 axis and altered macrophage polarization.
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 (5)
- Oil-level lime phototoxic handling is clear, but isolated-constituent phototoxicity evidence for isopimpinellin is mixed rather than settled.
- Most benefit-oriented studies are animal or cell based and should not be presented as human therapeutic evidence.
- Local oil files currently use a different CAS number for this constituent than the PubChem and NIST identity sources reviewed here.
- 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.