Zingiberene is the signature sesquiterpene hydrocarbon most commonly associated with ginger essential oil and is often the dominant peak in steam-distilled ginger rhizome profiles. Current public evidence is strong for identity and occurrence, and modest for preclinical research on cell, animal, and plant-protection models. The main archive caution is naming overlap: many live databases and papers treat zingiberene and alpha-zingiberene as the same practical constituent record, so claims should stay chemistry-first and avoid implying separate human therapeutic evidence.
Chemical identity and composition
PubChem resolves the name zingiberene to the stereochemically defined compound (-)-zingiberene, CID 92776, formula C15H24, with synonyms including alpha-zingiberene and CAS 495-60-3. In AromaForge oil context, ginger records consistently treat alpha-zingiberene as a major marker, with public source ranges around 29-45% in ISO-linked ginger profiles and a 37.89% example in one commercial lot sheet.
Aroma and practical use
- Use the recorded spicy, warm, fresh, ginger-like, sharp 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 2018 Molecules paper reported that purified alpha-zingiberene showed cytotoxicity across several tumor-cell models, with the strongest isolated-compound result in B16F10-Nex2 murine melanoma cells at an IC50 of 27.0 micrograms per mL.
A 2018 Molecules paper reported that purified alpha-zingiberene showed cytotoxicity across several tumor-cell models, with the strongest isolated-compound result in B16F10-Nex2 murine melanoma cells at an IC50 of 27.0 micrograms per mL.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
A PubMed-indexed 2020 rat study reported antihyperlipidemic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic effects for zingiberene in an isoproterenol-induced myocardial-infarction model.
A PubMed-indexed 2020 rat study reported antihyperlipidemic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic effects for zingiberene in an isoproterenol-induced myocardial-infarction model.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
A PubMed-indexed plant assay reported that alpha-zingiberene achieved more than 40% in vivo inhibition of tobacco mosaic virus infection at 320 micrograms per mL, which is relevant to crop-protection research rather than human use.
A PubMed-indexed plant assay reported that alpha-zingiberene achieved more than 40% in vivo inhibition of tobacco mosaic virus infection at 320 micrograms per mL, which is relevant to crop-protection research rather than human use.
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 human clinical safety trial, constituent-specific IFRA restriction, or verified dermal maximum for isolated zingiberene was located in the reviewed public sources.
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.
Most accessible benefit-facing data come from cell, animal, or plant-pathogen models and should not be translated into medical claims.
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.
Industry database usage flags reviewed in this pass are conservative and do not substitute for a dedicated toxicology monograph.
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
These are research candidates recorded in the interaction matrix. They do not add a proven-amplification bonus to the score.
beta-SesquiphellandreneAmplification candidate
Candidate in the research matrix. A coefficient alone does not establish amplification at the dose, route or goal of your blend; no proven amplification is inferred from this row.
research review · whole_oil
No source citation attached.
Read beta-Sesquiphellandrene report →gamma-TerpineneAmplification candidate
Candidate in the research matrix. A coefficient alone does not establish amplification at the dose, route or goal of your blend; no proven amplification is inferred from this row.
in vitro mechanistic · antioxidant
No source citation attached.
Read gamma-Terpinene report →How the effects were investigated
apoptosis related tumor cell signal
Cell-model literature links zingiberene exposure with reduced tumor-cell viability and apoptosis-associated signaling, including mitochondrial cytochrome c release and caspase-3 activation in a cervical-cancer model.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
No direct public citation is attached to this entry.
reduced inflammatory and oxidative stress signals in animal model
A rat myocardial-injury paper describes zingiberene as anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic in an isoproterenol challenge model, which supports pathway-level interest but not clinical efficacy.
This experimental finding does not establish benefit, dose or safety in people using this blend.
No direct public citation is attached to this entry.
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)
- Public identity sources largely collapse zingiberene into alpha-zingiberene, so this record should be interpreted as an alias-centered archive entry rather than a clearly separate chemical entity.
- No human clinical studies specific to isolated zingiberene were verified in this pass.
- Constituent-specific safety data remain much thinner than the identity and occurrence literature.
- No IFRA standard, RIFM monograph, or Tisserand & Young dermal limit specific to zingiberene/alpha-zingiberene was located; the previous dermal_limit_pct (25%) and sensitizing/phototoxic flags had no supporting citation and have been cleared pending verified data.
- 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.
- Interaction candidates lack an attached source citation and remain unqualified.