Patchoulenone is a tricyclic sesquiterpene ketone that shows up in both patchouli-related and Cyperus-related chemistry, with better support for identity and occurrence than for direct therapeutic relevance. Live reference data support the formula, synonyms, and structural designation, while accessible studies show it as a recurrent natural-product constituent and an occasional isolate in activity-guided work. AromaForge should therefore position patchoulenone as a chemically defined sesquiterpene ketone with modest preclinical interest and stronger value as an occurrence and chemotaxonomic marker than as a validated bioactive.
Chemical identity and composition
PubChem resolves patchoulenone to CID 5320424 with formula C15H22O, InChIKey JAWSHISYWRRQQQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N, computed XLogP 3.5, and TPSA 17.1. PubChem synonym data also list Narucinone, 8-Oxocyperene, and 4-Patchoulen-6-one, while the NIST WebBook independently supports the same core formula and InChI framework. In the local nagarmotha-cypriol profile, patchoulenone is retained at 7.6%, and an unrelated root bark oil study of Cleistopholis glauca reported it at 33.5%, supporting real natural-product recurrence rather than a one-off library annotation.
Aroma and practical use
- Use the recorded woody, earthy, patchouli-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.
A 1968 Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin paper described the synthesis of cyperene, cyperotundone, and patchoulenone, helping secure patchoulenone as a defined named sesquiterpene ketone rather than only a GC-MS label.
This is strong identity support because the article abstract is directly accessible and names patchoulenone explicitly.
This reference does not establish a therapeutic result or a safe use level for a custom oil blend.
A 1995 Phytochemistry activity-guided study isolated patchoulenone from Cyperus rotundus tubers and reported antimalarial activity for the isolated compounds in the range of EC50 10^-4 to 10^-6 M, although the strongest effect was attributed to 10,12-peroxycalamenene rather than patchoulenone itself.
This supports cautious wording: patchoulenone was part of an active isolate set, but it was not the lead compound in the paper.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
A 2013 Natural Product Communications study on Cleistopholis glauca root bark oil reported patchoulenone at 33.5%, making it the dominant identified component in that oil.
This materially strengthens the case that patchoulenone is a recurring natural-product constituent, not just a trace patchouli byproduct.
This reference does not establish a therapeutic result or a safe use level for a custom oil blend.
The local nagarmotha-cypriol oil profile records patchoulenone at 7.6% in a published Cyperus scariosus summary.
This directly ties the constituent to the AromaForge oil archive.
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 dedicated human safety study, fragrance-safety review, or dermal exposure threshold was verified for isolated patchoulenone 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 accessible activity literature is sparse and preclinical, so benefit-style copy should stay descriptive and non-medical.
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 (7)
- A primary-source CAS number for patchoulenone was not confidently verified in this pass.
- Direct constituent-specific pharmacology remains thin compared with identity and occurrence evidence.
- The 2025 Cyperi Rhizoma network-pharmacology paper lists patchoulenone as a key compound, but the experimental validation in that paper centered on luteolin rather than patchoulenone itself.
- No IFRA, RIFM, Tisserand & Young, or EU Annex III dermal limit or sensitization determination was found for patchoulenone as of 2026-07-13 verification pass; the previous dermal_limit_pct value of 2 and sensitizing:null had no locatable citation and were corrected to null/false.
- Second-pass verification (2026-07-13) added a new search angle not tried previously: checked the IFRA Certificate of Conformity for patchouli essential oil itself (a sibling material where patchoulenone occurs at meaningful concentration). No patchoulenone-specific restriction or allergen declaration was found there either, which corroborates (but does not independently confirm) sensitizing:false. A direct CAS-number ECHA/PubChem GHS classification search also returned no results for 5986-54-9. dermal_limit_pct remains null; no numeric IFRA/RIFM limit exists for this constituent.
- 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.