tau-Muurolol is a cadinane-type sesquiterpene alcohol found in wood, leaf, and conifer-associated essential oils, including several hinoki- and cade-adjacent profiles already represented in the AromaForge archive. The strongest live evidence supports its chemical identity, repeated occurrence, and one notable in vitro antifungal paper rather than any human wellness application. For archive use, it is most accurate to position tau-muurolol as a woody aroma constituent with limited but real constituent-level antipathogenic evidence and substantial clinical and safety-data gaps.
Chemical identity and composition
PubChem resolves tau-muurolol under the title epi-alpha-Muurolol, while NIST and synonym registries retain tau-Muurolol and T-Muurolol as common names for the same stereochemically defined sesquiterpene alcohol. The molecule has formula C15H26O and appears in public volatile profiles of woods, conifers, and medicinal plants, often alongside alpha-cadinol and eudesmol-class sesquiterpene alcohols.
Aroma and practical use
- Use the recorded woody, cedar-like, 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 2012 Natural Product Communications study on Chamaecyparis formosensis twig oil identified tau-muurolol at 21.6% and reported that isolated tau-muurolol showed IC50 values below 50 microg/mL against Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, and Fusarium solani, with additional inhibition of Pestalotiopsis funereal and Ganoderma austral.
A 2012 Natural Product Communications study on Chamaecyparis formosensis twig oil identified tau-muurolol at 21.6% and reported that isolated tau-muurolol showed IC50 values below 50 microg/mL against Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, and Fusarium solani, with additional inhibition of Pestalotiopsis funereal and Ganoderma austral.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
PubChem classifies tau-muurolol as a cadinane sesquiterpenoid and tags it with roles including plant metabolite, volatile oil component, and fungicide, which supports conservative chemistry-led archive positioning.
PubChem classifies tau-muurolol as a cadinane sesquiterpenoid and tags it with roles including plant metabolite, volatile oil component, and fungicide, which supports conservative chemistry-led archive positioning.
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.
A recorded constituent reference, not a recommended oil dilution. Product category, source applicability and all contributing oils must be checked before use.
recorded reference · IFRA Code of Practice, 49th Amendment (fragrance-concentrate usage recommendation for T-muurolol/tau-muurolol, CAS 19912-62-0), as compiled by The Good Scents Company with a linked RIFM Fragrance Material Safety Assessment: usage levels up to 4.0% in the fragrance concentrate.Screening assumption (verified). It is not a verified constituent-specific exposure limit.
model fallback · IFRA Code of Practice, 49th Amendment (fragrance-concentrate usage recommendation for T-muurolol/tau-muurolol, CAS 19912-62-0), as compiled by The Good Scents Company with a linked RIFM Fragrance Material Safety Assessment: usage levels up to 4.0% in the fragrance concentrate.No constituent-specific human safety trials, modern dermal limits, or fragrance-panel monographs were verified for isolated tau-muurolol 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.
Because the direct activity evidence is limited to plant-pathogen assays, archive copy should avoid implying antimicrobial or therapeutic benefits in humans.
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
fungal_growth_inhibition
A constituent-isolation study tested tau-muurolol directly against several phytopathogenic fungi and reported broad mycelial-growth inhibition, but did not establish a deeper molecular mechanism.
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 human clinical data specific to isolated tau-muurolol were verified.
- The constituent-specific mechanistic literature is sparse beyond one antifungal activity paper.
- Modern exposure, sensitization, and inhalation-safety data for isolated tau-muurolol remain unclear.
- Uncited placeholder values (dermal_limit_pct:20, sensitizing:true) removed on QA re-check 2026-07; no authoritative source found.
- 2026-07-13 re-verification: located a genuine IFRA-referenced usage figure via The Good Scents Company (T-muurolol, CAS 19912-62-0), citing the IFRA Code of Practice 49th Amendment and a linked RIFM Fragrance Material Safety Assessment: 'Recommendation for T-muurolol usage levels up to: 4.0000% in the fragrance concentrate.' dermal_limit_pct set from this figure; note it is a fragrance-concentrate usage ceiling, not a finished-product leave-on skin dermal maximum. No GHS/CLP hazard classification or sensitization data was found (TGSC lists 'None found' for hazard statements), so sensitizing and penetration_enhancer remain null rather than assumed negative.
- Some findings do not record an explicit exposure route; consult the linked study before applying them to a use.