Linalool is an acyclic monoterpene alcohol, strictly a monoterpenoid. It is the dominant aroma compound of lavender and occurs in coriander, basil, birch and many flowers. In cannabis it is a floral, sweet, slightly spicy note that is usually a secondary terpene rather than the dominant one.
In practice
Typical flower readings run from not detected to about 0.3% w/w. A few cultivar families are notably linalool-rich, and breeders who chase floral profiles select for it with terpene tests. As an alcohol, linalool is a little less volatile than the hydrocarbon monoterpenes but still sensitive to warm, fast drying.
Don't confuse with
- Linalyl acetate: the ester partner in lavender oil, rarely reported in cannabis.
- Geraniol: another floral monoterpene alcohol, rosier in scent.
- Linoleic acid: a fatty acid, unrelated despite the similar name.
Myth check
Linalool is often marketed as "calming". Animal and inhalation studies exist, but there is no established human evidence that the amount in cannabis produces such an effect; effects are only reported. See Mythbusters.
A monoterpene is a ten-carbon terpene made from geranyl pyrophosphate, such as myrcene, limonene, pinene or terpinolene; they are the most volatile terpenes and the first lost in drying.A dominant allele is one whose effect shows in the phenotype even when only one copy is present, masking the other (recessive) allele at that locus.Terpenes are volatile hydrocarbon compounds built from five-carbon isoprene units; in cannabis they are made in the trichome heads and are a major part of aroma and flavour.ND (non-detect) on a COA means the compound was not found at or above the method's limit of detection; it does not mean the amount is zero.A terpene test measures the individual terpenes and total terpene content of a sample, usually by GC-FID or GC-MS, reported in % w/w or mg/g.Geraniol is a rosy, floral monoterpene alcohol made from geranyl pyrophosphate, found in rose and geranium oils and as a minor terpene in cannabis.A terpenoid is a terpene-derived compound that carries extra functional groups, usually oxygen (alcohols, oxides, ketones), such as linalool, bisabolol or caryophyllene oxide.A terpene profile is the measured mix of terpenes in a sample, reported as each compound's % w/w and the total, used to describe and compare cultivar aroma chemistry.Bisabolol (alpha-bisabolol) is a mild, floral, chamomile-like sesquiterpene alcohol found as a minor terpene in some cannabis cultivars.
