# Beta-Caryophyllene

> β-Caryophyllene (BCP, (E)-caryophyllene) is a bicyclic sesquiterpene found in black pepper, cloves, hops, rosemary, cannabis, Imphepho and Artemisia capillaris. It is unusual among terpenes and…

Canonical: https://wiki.soapbox.community/wiki/Beta-Caryophyllene
Section: Substances and pharmacology
Last updated: 2026-10-20
Publisher: Library of Ashurbanipal (Van Kush Family Research Institute), https://wiki.soapbox.community

**β-Caryophyllene** (BCP, (E)-caryophyllene) is a bicyclic sesquiterpene found in black pepper, cloves, hops, rosemary, cannabis, Imphepho and *Artemisia capillaris*. It is unusual among terpenes and unique among common dietary compounds in one specific respect: **it is a selective CB2 receptor agonist**. It binds a cannabinoid receptor, it holds **FDA GRAS** status as a food additive, and it is not psychoactive — because CB2, unlike CB1, is peripheral and immune-associated rather than centrally psychotropic.

## Why it is the unifying compound

Across an otherwise unrelated set of plant materials, β-caryophyllene keeps appearing:

- **Black pepper** (*Piper nigrum*) — alongside guineensine and piperine
- **Cloves**
- **Cannabis** — one of the most abundant terpenes in many chemovars
- **Imphepho** — 19.20% of the oil in *H. cymosum*
- ***Artemisia capillaris***
- **Hops** — alongside 8-prenylnaringenin

A single receptor-active compound running through the culinary, the ritual and the medicinal shelves is the sort of thing that makes an ethnobotanical pattern look less like coincidence.

## Pharmacology

- **CB2 agonism** — anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity in preclinical models, without the CB1-mediated intoxication.
- Reported activity at PPAR-γ.
- Anti-inflammatory action independent of the cannabinoid system.

Its status as a **dietary cannabinoid** is the point of interest: a compound present in ordinary food that acts at a cannabinoid receptor complicates any clean line between diet and drug.

## Vaporisation

β-Caryophyllene comes off in the **sesquiterpene band, 175–200 °C** (347–392 °F) — above the monoterpenes and below the flavonoids. A vaporiser run in that band on Imphepho delivers the CB2-active fraction specifically, which is the main practical reason to control temperature rather than simply burn the material.

## Evidence status

CB2 binding is well established *in vitro*. Therapeutic claims in humans are **not** established: the anti-inflammatory and analgesic findings are preclinical, and dietary exposure levels are far below the concentrations used in those studies. It is a real mechanism at an uncertain dose.

See also: Cannabinoid Oilahuasca · MAGL · FAAH · Imphepho · Black Pepper · Stack Substances