Terpenes Spotlight: Limonene

You may have come across the term “terpenes” while shopping for cannabis and wondered “what are those?” You wouldn’t be the only one. Cannabis plants produce hundreds of compounds beyond just CBD and THC. Terpenes are a class of compound that plays a role in what cannabis smells like, but as research into these aromatic compounds advances, they’re also believed to change a user’s cannabis experience. 

One of the more common terpenes in cannabis is called limonene (“lie-muh-neen”). You may already be familiar with limonene but didn’t know its name until now. Limonene is the major component in almost all citrus fruits. When you cut open a lemon or lime and sniff it, you’re not smelling the lime itself but the limonene (and other terpenes & fragrances) that it’s emitting. 

In this post we’ll discuss:

• What limonene is 

• Where limonene can be found in nature 

• And, what research has been done on its potential benefits

What Are Terpenes? 

We’ll get to limonene in a moment, but before we do let’s look at terpenes as a whole. Terpenes are volatile aromatic hydrocarbons found in plants and some animals. Terpenes are molecules composed of isoprenes which you might think of as small building blocks and classified by how many isoprenes they contain. Monoterpenes contain two isoprenes, sesquiterpenes contain three, diterpenes four, and so on. Terpenes typically account for 1-2% of a cannabis flower’s weight. 

Examples of terpenes include: 

• Mangoes and hops contain high concentrations of myrcene

• Beta-caryophyllene is found in black pepper and cinnamon

• Terpinolene is a component of turpentine 

What Is Limonene?

Limonene, sometimes referred to as D-limonene, is a monoterpene (two isoprene units) and is responsible for the sweet, citrusy, fruity scent reminiscent of tangerines and lemons. Limonene makes up a large percentage of essential oils found in almost all citrus fruit rinds. Besides citrus, limonene can be found in cannabis, caraway, juniper, dill, and some coniferous trees. 

Although it is rarely a dominant terpene itself— the terpene with the highest concentration in a cannabis cultivar— it usually isn’t too far behind the dominant terpene. We’ll take a closer look at the limonene content of Sunset Lake Cannabis’s cultivars below thanks to our third-party laboratory testing. 

What Is Limonene Used For?

Thanks to its bright, fresh scent, limonene is used as a flavoring agent for food & drinks, a component in many fragrances, and as an additive in cleaning products. In addition to these commercial uses, scientists are researching how limonene affects the human body and how it might be used in a therapeutic capacity.

Here is a short list of some potential benefits that have been researched:

• anti-anxiety (1) (2) (6)

• aid with gastro-oesophageal reflux (1)

• antibacterial (1)

• antibiotic (2)

• inhibition of acne (2)

• immunostimulation(1)

• anti-inflammatory (2) (4) (5)

• analgesic qualities (3)

While some of the results look very promising, we must be patient and wait for more research to confirm any potential benefits that limonene could offer. 

Limonene is one of the most plentiful terpenes found in nature!

Odds are that if it’s a citrus fruit, it contains limonene. Think of that fresh, acidic scent!

Sunset Lake Cannabis Cultivars Featuring Limonene

Our sun-grown cannabis naturally produces higher levels of terpenes as a way to ward off pests and animals. As a matter of practice, we test all of our cultivars with a third-party laboratory for potency, terpenes, heavy metals, and pesticides. You can see them all right here! 

Below is a breakdown of the limonene content for the 2022 crop of Sunset Lake Cannabis flower.

Afghan Kush - 0.303%

All Gas OG - 0.368%

Bubblegum Haze - 0.413%

Do-Si-Dos - 0.295%

Fortune Cookies - 0.208%

Mountaintop Mint - 0.350%

Pineapple Haze - 0.231%

Raspberry Parfait - 0.085%

White Widow - 0.228%

Note that the percentage of terpenes is reported on a by-weight basis. An “*” indicates that limonene is the dominant terpene.

References

1. Russo E. B. (2011). Taming THC: potential cannabis synergy and phytocannabinoid-terpenoid entourage effects. British journal of pharmacology, 163(7), 1344–1364. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1476-5381.2011.01238.x

2. Ahmad, Samoon, and Kevin P. Hill. Medical Marijuana: A Clinical Handbook, Wolters Kluwer, Philadelphia, 2021, pp. 112 & 276t

3. Araújo-Filho, H. G., Pereira, E., Rezende, M. M., Menezes, P. P., Araújo, A., Barreto, R., Martins, A., Albuquerque, T. R., Silva, B., Alcantara, I. S., Coutinho, H., Menezes, I., Quintans-Júnior, L. J., & Quintans, J. (2017). D-limonene exhibits superior antihyperalgesic effects in a β-cyclodextrin-complexed form in chronic musculoskeletal pain reducing Fos protein expression on spinal cord in mice. Neuroscience, 358, 158–169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.06.037 

4. Bacanlı, M., Başaran, A. A., & Başaran, N. (2015). The antioxidant and antigenotoxic properties of citrus phenolics limonene and naringin. Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association, 81, 160–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2015.04.015 

5. Yu, L., Yan, J., & Sun, Z. (2017). D-limonene exhibits anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties in an ulcerative colitis rat model via regulation of iNOS, COX-2, PGE2 and ERK signaling pathways. Molecular Medicine Reports, 15, 2339-2346. https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2017.6241 

6. Costa, C. A., Cury, T. C., Cassettari, B. O., Takahira, R. K., Flório, J. C., & Costa, M. (2013). Citrus aurantium L. essential oil exhibits anxiolytic-like activity mediated by 5-HT(1A)-receptors and reduces cholesterol after repeated oral treatment. BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 13, 42. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6882-13-42