Thujopsene is a cedarwood-linked sesquiterpene hydrocarbon that appears prominently in the AromaForge archive's Hiba, Texas cedarwood, Virginian cedarwood, and Chinese thuja-style wood oils. The strongest live evidence supports identity, repeated occurrence in conifer wood oils, and a small but real preclinical literature around mast-cell signaling, antimicrobial activity, acaricidal effects, and in-vitro CYP inhibition. Human clinical evidence was not verified in this pass, so thujopsene should be framed primarily as a conifer aroma marker with early mechanistic and laboratory relevance rather than as a validated wellness ingredient.
Chemical identity and composition
PubChem resolves thujopsene to CID 442402 with formula C15H24, and NIST lists CAS 470-40-6 plus aliases including Thujopsene, Sesquichamene, Thujopsen, Widdrene, and cis-(-)-Thujopsene. In the local archive, thujopsene is a major marker in Hiba wood at 35.6%, Texas cedarwood at 29%, Cedarwood Chinese Thuja at 21.6%, and Cedarwood Virginian at about 16.26-19.09%, which makes it one of the clearer conifer-wood identity constituents in the dataset.
Aroma and practical use
- Use the recorded woody, cedarwood, dry, resinous, cedar-like, resin 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 2013 Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin study reported that thujopsene inhibited mast-cell degranulation and IL-4 release in antigen-induced IgE-sensitized RBL-2H3 cells, with reported IC values of 25.1 micromolar for beta-hexosaminidase release and 6.7 micromolar for IL-4 secretion.
This is one of the clearest constituent-specific thujopsene papers located, but it is still a cell-model result.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
A 2011 Archives of Pharmacal Research paper reported that thujopsene isolated from Thujopsis dolabrata showed antibacterial activity with MIC values in the 25-50 microgram per milliliter range against the tested organisms.
The paper supports a constituent-level antimicrobial signal, but it does not establish product performance in humans.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
A 2014 Pest Management Science study on hiba-oil constituents reported that (-)-thujopsene was the most toxic tested constituent against the two house-dust-mite species in that contact-plus-fumigant assay, with 24-hour LC50 values close to benzyl benzoate.
This is relevant to pesticidal and indoor-environment research, not to medical use.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
A 2014 human liver microsome study reported that thujopsene potently and competitively inhibited CYP2B6-mediated bupropion hydroxylation with a Ki of 0.8 micromolar, moderately inhibited CYP3A4, and showed mechanism-based inhibition of CYP2C8, CYP2C9, and CYP2C19 in vitro.
This is a mechanistic interaction flag rather than proof of a real-world contraindication at aroma exposure levels.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
Use concerns and concentration limits
Sensitization concernFlagged
Flagged in the constituent reference; assess the source, route and finished-product concentration.
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.
unverified reference · No source provenance attachedNo constituent-specific IFRA dermal ceiling, phototoxic restriction, or open human topical-tolerability study was verified for isolated thujopsene in this pass.
This reference does not establish a therapeutic result or a safe use level for a custom oil blend.
The clearest safety-relevant signal in the direct literature is in-vitro CYP inhibition, which should be treated as an early interaction hypothesis rather than as a finished-product warning on its own.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
Because most direct activity data come from cell systems, mites, or microbial assays, archive copy should stay non-medical and avoid implying proven human efficacy.
This reference does not establish a therapeutic result or a safe use level for a custom oil blend.
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
mast_cell_degranulation_and_il4_suppression
RBL-2H3 cell work reported that thujopsene reduced beta-hexosaminidase release and lowered IL-4 secretion, mRNA, and protein expression in an IgE-sensitized mast-cell model.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
cyp2b6_competitive_inhibition_with_additional_cyp_signals
Human liver microsome data reported potent competitive inhibition of CYP2B6-mediated bupropion hydroxylation by thujopsene, moderate CYP3A4 inhibition, and mechanism-based inhibition signals for CYP2C8, CYP2C9, and CYP2C19.
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 or controlled inhalation/topical study specific to isolated thujopsene was verified in this pass.
- Open public safety coverage is much weaker than the occurrence literature for this constituent.
- Odor-description sourcing for isolated thujopsene is thinner than for more common perfumery materials, so descriptor language here stays conservative.
- Second-pass verification (2026-07-13): searched IFRA Standards Library and RIFM fragrancematerialsafetyresource.elsevier.com by CAS 470-40-6 (cedarwood is a major IFRA-listed material, but no thujopsene-specific standard or monograph surfaced); also checked TGSC. No dermal limit or sensitization determination found. dermal_limit_pct and sensitizing remain unverified estimates; left unchanged.
- 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.