Your Guide to Myrcene, Hemp’s Chillest Terpene

We’ve talked before about the underrated power of terpenes in CBD — those chemical compounds that add powerful scents and flavors and all kinds of health benefits. Well, myrcene might just be one of the most powerful.

The Most Common Terpene in Hemp

This isn’t some obscure chemical compound: Myrcene, also called beta-myrcene, is the most common terpene in hemp. It is more precisely classified as a monoterpene.

Levels will vary depending on the strain of hemp you’re using, but you can expect myrcene to make up around 20% of the terpene profile.

It is a Big Part of Hemp’s Flavor

Myrcene doesn’t have one particular plant that it imparts a signature flavor onto, like linalool does for lavender or limonene for citrus.

Instead, it has a woody, earthy flavor which some have compared to balsam and others to clove. It gets its name from myrcia, a genus of flowering plants from Mexico and South America.

History

Myrcene is by far the most prominent terpene in lemongrass, which has been used as an herbal medicine in Southeast Asia for about 2,000 years, as well as Mexico and Brazil. Historically, It’s been most-commonly taken as lemongrass tea.

Consumed in this form, myrcene has long been used as a sleep aid. Even today, the herbal tea is popular among the sleep-troubled.

In Brazil, lemongrass tea developed a reputation in folk medicine for its ability to help manage pain. Lemongrass tea has also been used historically to aid with stomach issues like indigestion. There are recent studies that show the reasons for this, which we’ll get into down below.

How It Was Used

In addition to its curative properties, myrcene is used in fragrances like perfume and as a flavor-enhancer in food. In these industries, it’s typically produced synthetically, not extracted from a natural source.

Benefits

Science is starting to back up what traditional medicine has been demonstrating for centuries — that myrcene has numerous health benefits, most prominently powerful sedative and analgesic properties.

While these benefits can be obtained from its extract (or oil) or lemongrass essential oil, among others, there are advantages to getting the terpene from full-spectrum hemp oil.

When myrcene is taken as part of full-spectrum hemp oil, the user gets all of these benefits, plus those of other terpenes like linalool, pinene, and limonene, and of course, CBD. These compounds work together in a process called the entourage effect, which makes each one more powerful than if they were taken individually.

It Can Improve Sleep

This monoterpene has long been used as a sleep aid and muscle relaxant, but recent peer-reviewed studies have backed this up, finding that it (along with limonene and citral) has sedative and motor-relaxant properties.

Helps Manage Discomfort and Inflammation

One study (which looked at rats) found that myrcene has analgesic properties that may be useful in cases where aspirin is not effective and works by activating opioid receptors.

But myrcene’s effects go deeper. It’s believed to help the body heal and prevent further damage at the tissue level. As another study found, “myrcene has significant anti-inflammatory and anti-catabolic effects.” Anti-catabolic means that it can prevent muscle mass from breaking down.

Other Potential Benefits

This terpene is also thought to increase production of protective mucus in the stomach, and potentially has the ability to decrease ulcers — it makes sense that we’ve been using it to reduce stomach pain for the last few thousand years.

Green Lotus Full-Spectrum Hemp Oil is High in Myrcene

Every strain of hemp is going to have some myrcene, but Green Lotus Full-Spectrum Hemp Oil is especially high in the compound.

Your friends,

Green Lotus