GET TO KNOW YOUR OILS
Cape May
Coleonema album
Chemotype: caryophyllene and trans-beta-ocimene rich type
- PLANT PART
- stems and leaves
- EXTRACTION
- steam distillation
- AROMA NOTE
- top
LEARN AS YOU COMPARE
What’s inside this oil?
Constituents are the natural chemicals that give an oil its character. See the main ones, learn what they do, and explore differences between batches.
Meet the main constituents, then select one to see what makes it interesting.
FOLLOW YOUR SENSES
Aroma & character
A closer look at this oil's scent, strength, and staying power.
- Aroma intensity
- 70 / 100
- Note layer
- top
If you like this scent, explore
A LITTLE CARE GOES A LONG WAY
Using it thoughtfully
Read the full safety context before bringing this oil into your routine.
- Cited dermal maximum · leave-on
- No restriction cited
- Phototoxicity
- Not flagged in this profile
- Oxidation risk
- medium
A cited maximum is a limit, not a suggested dilution. Missing restrictions do not establish safety.
No phototoxic furocoumarin restriction was identified for the steam-distilled leaf oil.
Read the complete safety guideExplore measured chemistry from supplier batches
A supplier report describes a particular sample. Open this workspace to investigate measured constituents and their original documents.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE SCENT
Inside the oil
An oil's character comes from its natural chemical composition. Explore each constituent to understand the connections.
About this composition
Cape May oil from Coleonema album is a South African fynbos leaf/stem oil. This pass switched the quantified constituent table to a single internally-consistent source, Fajinmi et al. (2017, PMC6130550) Table 2, which reports every named C. album bioactive compound at or above 1.5% (caryophyllene, trans-beta-ocimene, the co-eluting bicyclo[3.1.0]hex-2-ene/beta-phellandrene peak, octahydro-7-methyl-3-methylene-4-(1-methylethyl)-beta-copaene, beta-myrcene, beta-pinene, (+)-3-carene, bicyclogermacrene, alpha-terpineol, eucalyptol/1,8-cineole, gamma-elemene, and (Z)-beta-ocimene) plus a 15.69% 'Others' fraction below that reporting threshold. An earlier version of this record mixed rows from a different study (Baser et al., five-Coleonema-species survey reporting beta-phellandrene 30.4% and myrcene 20.5% as dominant) with the Fajinmi rows; those two studies describe different C. album samples with materially different dominant constituents and cannot be summed into one closure total, so the Baser rows were removed in favor of the single fully-itemized Fajinmi table, which is the best available public source for raising closure without double-counting across incompatible samples.
| Constituent | Typical amount | Reported range | Chemical family | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| beta-Caryophyllene | 24.91% | 24.91–24.91% | sesquiterpene hydrocarbon | View sourceAntifungal and antioxidant activities of Coleonema album and C. pulchellum against skin diseases PMC abstract snippet, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6130550/ |
| trans-beta-ocimene | 9.49% | 9.49–9.49% | monoterpene hydrocarbon | View sourceAntifungal and antioxidant activities of Coleonema album and C. pulchellum against skin diseases PMC abstract snippet, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6130550/ |
| (Z)-beta-ocimene | 2.25% | 2.25–2.25% | monoterpene hydrocarbon | View sourceAntifungal and antioxidant activities of Coleonema album and C. pulchellum against skin diseases PMC6130550, Table 2, Coleonema album bioactive compounds: 1,3,6-Octatriene,3,7-dimethyl-, (Z)-beta-ocimene 2.25% |
| beta-Phellandrene | 5.97% | 5.97–5.97% | monoterpene hydrocarbon | View sourceAntifungal and antioxidant activities of Coleonema album and C. pulchellum against skin diseases PMC6130550, Table 2, Coleonema album bioactive compounds: Bicyclo[3.1.0]hex-2-ene,4-methyl-1-(1-methyethyl)-beta-Phellandrene 5.97% |
| Octahydro-7-methyl-3-methylene-4-(1-methylethyl)-beta-copaene | 7.53% | 7.53–7.53% | sesquiterpene hydrocarbon | View sourceAntifungal and antioxidant activities of Coleonema album and C. pulchellum against skin diseases PMC6130550, Table 2, Coleonema album bioactive compounds: Octahydro-7-methyl-3-methylene-4-(1-methylethyl)-beta-copaene 7.53% |
| beta-Myrcene | 7.96% | 7.96–7.96% | monoterpene hydrocarbon | View sourceAntifungal and antioxidant activities of Coleonema album and C. pulchellum against skin diseases PMC6130550, Table 2, Coleonema album bioactive compounds: beta-Myrcene 7.96% |
| beta-Pinene | 7% | 7–7% | monoterpene hydrocarbon | View sourceAntifungal and antioxidant activities of Coleonema album and C. pulchellum against skin diseases PMC6130550, Table 2, Coleonema album bioactive compounds: beta-Pinene 7.00% |
| (+)-3-Carene | 5.98% | 5.98–5.98% | monoterpene hydrocarbon | View sourceAntifungal and antioxidant activities of Coleonema album and C. pulchellum against skin diseases PMC6130550, Table 2, Coleonema album bioactive compounds: (+)-3-Carene 5.98% |
| Bicyclogermacrene | 5.11% | 5.11–5.11% | sesquiterpene hydrocarbon | View sourceAntifungal and antioxidant activities of Coleonema album and C. pulchellum against skin diseases PMC6130550, Table 2, Coleonema album bioactive compounds: Bicyclogermacrene 5.11% |
| alpha-Terpineol | 3.69% | 3.69–3.69% | monoterpene alcohol | View sourceAntifungal and antioxidant activities of Coleonema album and C. pulchellum against skin diseases PMC6130550, Table 2, Coleonema album bioactive compounds: alpha-Terpineol 3.69% |
| 1,8-Cineole (Eucalyptol) | 2.58% | 2.58–2.58% | monoterpene oxide | View sourceAntifungal and antioxidant activities of Coleonema album and C. pulchellum against skin diseases PMC6130550, Table 2, Coleonema album bioactive compounds: Eucalyptol 2.58% |
| gamma-Elemene | 1.84% | 1.84–1.84% | sesquiterpene hydrocarbon | View sourceAntifungal and antioxidant activities of Coleonema album and C. pulchellum against skin diseases PMC6130550, Table 2, Coleonema album bioactive compounds: gamma-Elemene 1.84% |
Profile source: Antifungal and antioxidant activities of Coleonema album and C. pulchellum against skin diseases (Fajinmi et al. 2017); Cape May Oil - Skimmelberg Fynbos Oils; Coleonema album: a review of its botany, medicinal uses, phytochemistry and biological activities · https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6130550/ (Table 2, Coleonema album bioactive compounds, full itemized row set) ; https://www.skimmelbergfynbosoils.co.za/products/cape-may-oil/ ; https://pharmainfo.in/jpsr/Documents/Volumes/vol11issue10/jpsr11101910.pdf
A TRADITION OF BOTANICAL CURIOSITY
Traditional & reported uses
These uses reflect the profile's reported traditions and literature. They are not established treatment recommendations.
- shares the traditional refreshing, uplifting reputation of Cape fynbos aromatic plants
- reported use in diffuser blends for a fresh, citrusy-green atmosphere
- used in perfumery for a bright, slightly minty-green note
- traditionally associated with supporting mental clarity and freshness
- reported use in blends intended to evoke a clean, invigorating environment
For aromatherapy and wellness use only — not medical advice. Effect statements are traditional/reported associations, not treatment claims. The Synergy Rating scores blend craft, harmony and safety, not medical efficacy. Read the safety framework.
What we're still learning · 5 data gaps
Good decisions start with knowing what is — and isn't — in the evidence.
- max_dermal_pct 100 is an archive normalization from Skimmelberg's public 'contra-indications: none known' statement rather than a directly published numeric leave-on maximum.
- The Fajinmi et al. (2017) Table 2 total for Coleonema album includes a 15.69% 'Others' fraction lumping all compounds below the paper's 1.5% reporting threshold, so those minor constituents remain unidentified; closure tops out at roughly 0.84 from this single fully-itemized public source. Reaching 0.90+ would require either a second complete GC-MS table for C. album (not found in this pass) or resolving the 'Others' fraction from the original paper's supplementary data, which was not publicly accessible.
- An earlier version of this record combined this Fajinmi et al. table with a different study (Baser et al., five-Coleonema-species survey) that reports a materially different dominant-constituent profile (beta-phellandrene 30.4%, myrcene 20.5%) for the same species; those rows were removed in this pass because summing two distinct samples' full composition tables would double-count and produce a fictitious >100% blend rather than represent either real batch.
- No CAS number could be independently confirmed in the source paper itself for the compound reported as 'Bicyclo[3.1.0]hex-2-ene,4-methyl-1-(1-methyethyl)-beta-Phellandrene'; it is treated here as the co-eluting/synonym beta-phellandrene peak (CAS 555-10-2) based on the paper's own beta-Phellandrene naming in its Discussion prose summary of major components.
- Odor intensity 70 is a normalization of qualitative supplier descriptions such as fresh, herby, and peppery rather than a native published 0-100 measurement.