Ocimene is an acyclic monoterpene, a structural isomer of myrcene, existing as several isomers (cis- and trans-beta-ocimene, alpha-ocimene). It smells sweet, green, herbal and slightly woody, and is found in basil (Ocimum, the source of the name), mint, orchids and mango. Plants release it readily; in many species it's a signalling volatile that attracts pollinators or responds to insect feeding.
In practice
Cannabis panels often report "ocimene" as one figure summing the isomers, or list them separately. Typical readings run from not detected to about 0.3% w/w; higher values tend to appear in terpinolene-dominant chemotypes. It is very volatile, so it falls sharply in fast-dried or old flower and is often higher in fresh-frozen material.
Don't confuse with
- Myrcene: an isomer with a muskier, earthier smell.
- Terpinolene: a co-occurring monoterpene with a fresher, piney-floral note.
- Ocimum: the basil genus, not a compound.
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.Myrcene (beta-myrcene) is a monoterpene with a musky, earthy, ripe-fruit aroma and is the most common dominant terpene in commercial cannabis flower.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.Terpinolene is a monoterpene with a fresh, herbal, piney-citrus-floral aroma that dominates a distinctive, less common cannabis chemotype.A chemotype is a plant's chemical phenotype, in cannabis usually its dominant cannabinoid class: THC-dominant (I), mixed (II), CBD-dominant (III), CBG-dominant (IV) or cannabinoid-free (V).Fresh frozen is cannabis frozen immediately after harvest without drying or curing, used as starting material for live resin and live rosin to keep more volatile aroma.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.
