Tyler’s Terpene Tidbits: Leaning into Limonene

Greetings! Welcome back to Terpene Tidbits! This time we will be learning about Limonene, which is one of my favorite terpenes when it comes to getting motivated for the day. Nothing better than some limonene in the morning!

What is Limonene?

Limonene is probably one of the most common terpenes out there being present in many foods that we consume everyday. Primarily derived from citrus fruits like oranges, mandarins, and grapefruits to name a few. Limonene is also present in many herbs like mint, parsley, oregano, ginger among many others. This terpene can sometimes be confused with pinene because limonene has an added isomer that can give off a piney flavor or aroma profile over citrus-y. The additional isomer in the molecular structure is known as L-Limonene, while the normal citrus profile is known as D-Limonene.

Aroma and Flavor of Limonene

As mentioned before, there are many forms of Limonene. Some give off a citrus-y but sometimes bitter aroma/flavor profile, while others show an inescapable piney turpentine mint scent. Cultivars like Super Sour Diesel, Mimosa, Dante’s Inferno contain a percentage of limonene typically in the top 5, but pretty often in the top 3 terpenes detected during lab testing. Popular cultivars like Super Lemon Haze and Lemon G (which was originally bred in Ohio) even have limonene as the top terpene present! I will talk about more cultivars that are available in legal dispensaries here in Ohio at the end of the article.

Limonene’s Biological Role Within Plants

There are many essential roles that limonene is responsible for when it comes to protecting different plants against many types of insects including mealy bugs, whiteflies, seed beetles. An amazing tidbit that I came across was that limonene was shown to have a special relationship with corn. A chemical communication occurs between the two that allow corn plants to emit volatile limonene when eggs are laid on a neighboring plant. This allows the corn plants to activate their defenses without first being attacked or infested with eggs. This indicates the ability of the plants to send and receive advance warning signals. 

Industry Uses

Many terpenes are all used for the same reasons in the commercial market. Flavoring agents, odor control agents, adhesive removers are a few of the most common reasons we use terpenes in our everyday products. One tidbit that really stuck out when researching this terpene was that it has been used as a novel fuel source. A company called Cyclone, has developed an external combustion engine (most cars are internal combustion) in which D-Limonene was successfully used as a fuel source.

Potential Uses in Medicine

One of the major uses that Limonene can be used for when it comes to a medicine is in cancer treatments. Helping significantly with chemotherapy involving both prostate cancer and breast cancer. Limonene has the ability to enhance the antitumor effect of Docetaxel which is a common chemotherapy agent. When it comes to breast cancer, limonene has been shown to preferentially concentrate in human breast tissue and may lead to cell-cycle arrest and reduced cell proliferation. Also it can be used for treatment with lung injuries known as lipopolysaccharides (LPS) – induced acute lung injury in mice, limonene inhibited inflammatory cells and proinflammatory cytokines, which indicates a protective effect.

Here are some cultivars with high amounts of Limonene within the state medical program. 

• Waken Cake (Runtz x Scotty 2 Hotty) – Ascension Biomedical
• The Soap (Animal Mints x Kush Mints) – Galenas
• Purple Ghost (Ghost OG x Candyland Purple) – FRX 
• Strawberry Candy (Orange Zkittlez x Strawberry Guava) – Meigs County
• Animal Tree (Lemon Tree x Animal Mints) – Farkas Farms

I want to thank you all for joining me in learning more about terpenes and how we can use them in our everyday lives outside of cannabis. This series has been great! Be on the lookout for more terpene-related articles by me in the future! 

Sources

Russ Hudson, The Big Book of Terps, Understanding Terpenes, Flavonoids, and Synergy in Cannabis”, Edited by Jacqueline Graddon, MBA, Pages 130 – 138

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