Caryophyllene in Polish Pharmacies: 30 Strains, Two Studies, and Not a Single Human

• In the pharmacy list. It leads in 30 of 85 strains and is their leading terpene according to pharmacy data.
• Evidence. 2 studies from 2008 to 2014, all on animals or in cell culture, none on patients using dried flower.
• Temperature. 257.5 °C, with measurement conditions determining whether the number means anything.
• What we do not provide. Percentage share in the profile, because denominators in sources vary and numbers are not comparable between strains.

What is caryophyllene and where does it occur outside cannabis?

Caryophyllene is a sesquiterpene with the formula C15H24 and a molecular weight of 204.35, meaning a molecule with fifteen carbon atoms, half the size larger than limonene or pinene. Outside cannabis, it is recorded in many essential oils, primarily clove oil, and chemical registries list it as a flavoring substance for food.

The systematic name begins with bicyclo[7.2.0], meaning the molecule contains two fused rings: a nine-membered and a small four-membered ring. Such a small ring is rare among plant terpenes and distinguishes this compound from humulene, which has the same molecular formula but a differently folded carbon skeleton. Chemical registries consider the trans form, written as (E)-caryophyllene, the most common, and this is the form used in the 2008 study.

Of the eleven terpene names recognized in this cluster, caryophyllene is the most widespread: databases describing profiles list it in 73 of 85 cultivars, and the pharmacy list places it first in 30. The second sesquiterpene with the same formula, humulene, has its own page in this cluster and often appears alongside caryophyllene in profiles. The sensory description associated with this molecule in food additive registries mentions a spicy and woody note.

How long does it take for caryophyllene to reach the body and how long does it stay?

It is unknown, as no one has measured this for caryophyllene administered from dried flower. The ranges that can be honestly given describe the administration route and behavior of the whole raw material, not a single molecule. The following paragraph therefore concerns inhalation and swallowing as such, and the numbers apply to all strains in this set.

The administration route determines the course more than the strain itself. After vaporization, the substance passes from the lungs to the blood almost immediately, so first effects appear within minutes, intensity increases over fifteen to thirty minutes, and the whole episode lasts two to four hours. After swallowing, the raw material first passes through the intestine and liver, so first effects take from half an hour to two hours, and the episode lasts six, sometimes eight hours. This explains the common mistake with oral administration: those who think nothing happens after thirty minutes and take another dose get both doses at once. The above ranges describe the administration route, not the strain; no pharmacokinetic study for a single cultivar has been published.

For this molecule alone, the cluster’s evidence base has no blood concentration measurements. Both studies in the base administered the compound to mice orally or systemically, i.e., a measured dose of pure substance, not vapor from heated dried flower. How much remains after heating is also unknown: none of our sources provide recovery from heated raw material. We devote a separate section to boiling point, which is sometimes used as a proxy.

Why is the boiling point of caryophyllene not a vaporizer setting?

Because it is measured on the pure compound in a flask at a specified pressure, not on ground dried flower in the device chamber. Our data give 257.5 degrees Celsius at atmospheric pressure and separately 130 degrees at reduced pressure of 14 mm Hg. Neither number is a setting.

Records come from three databases: CAMEO Chemicals, Human Metabolome Database, and the FAO/WHO committee list for food additives. The difference between them is greater than it appears. One hundred thirty degrees is measured at pressure over fifty times lower than atmospheric, conditions under which any liquid evaporates earlier. This number circulates online as the boiling point of caryophyllene because it appears with the unit in the source and looks like a ready answer.

We do not provide device settings here at all, and this is not an oversight. Heating dried flower is not distillation of a pure compound: vapor arises from a mixture, earlier than from a single substance, and how much of what reaches the inhalation depends on device design and heating duration. Our data have no measurement of terpene recovery from heated raw material, so any temperature range given here would be invented. The method of using a prescription drug is determined by the doctor or pharmacist, not the information site.

What have studies shown about caryophyllene’s effects?

Two studies, both on mice. The first described binding to the CB2 receptor and inhibition of paw edema; the second showed reduction of inflammatory pain phase and neuropathic pain symptoms. The entire evidence base for this cluster includes 22 studies for eleven terpenes and contains none involving humans.

The 2008 study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) by Gertsch J, Leonti M, Raduner S, Racz I, Chen JZ, Xie XQ, Altmann KH, Karsak M, Zimmer A, showed that (E)-caryophyllene selectively bound to CB2 receptor (Ki = 155 nM) and inhibited carrageenan-induced paw edema in wild-type mice but not in CB2 receptor knockout mice (Cnr2-/-), indicating a CB2-dependent mechanism; no anxiety tests were included.

Six years later, the same topic was continued in a study published in European Neuropsychopharmacology by Klauke AL, Racz I, Pradier B, Markert A, Zimmer AM, Gertsch J, Zimmer A, which showed that oral caryophyllene reduced late inflammatory pain phase in formalin test in a CB2 receptor-dependent manner without affecting early phase; in neuropathic pain model, it alleviated thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia without tolerance development upon chronic administration.

Two things become clear when comparing both table rows. The names Gertsch and Zimmer appear on both studies, so these are not independent teams but two steps in the same research line. The mention of human cells in the 2008 model description refers to test tube receptor binding, not patients. The rest of the evidence base looks similar: of 22 entries, two do not even concern mammals but describe a plant and an insect.

What has not been demonstrated about caryophyllene?

The most important thing: translation to humans. Neither of the two studies tested caryophyllene on humans or in inhaled form from dried flower; both concern oral or systemic administration in mice models of pain and inflammation, not sleep or mood.

Each of these limitations can be broken down. Mice received a measured dose of pure compound to the stomach or peritoneal cavity, so the experiment knows exactly how much entered the body. For dried flower, no one knows: profile share cannot be read as a number because sources do not provide denominators, and part of the compound escapes or decomposes during heating.

Binding to CB2 receptor was measured in vitro on cells and is an affinity measurement of the molecule to the protein, not an observation of a patient. Between these lies dose, absorption, liver metabolism, and whether the receptor is involved in the human condition. None of these steps for caryophyllene have been published.

It is also necessary to separate what the studies did not address from what is attributed to them. They did not study sleep, mood, or anxiety, yet the compound is sometimes described online as a calming ingredient. They also did not study vaporization, so they say nothing about how much substance reaches the lungs from heated dried flower. They did not compare strains: none checked whether a strain with caryophyllene leading acts differently than one with myrcene.

The terpene order in the pharmacy list is not a result of a study. It is an ordering of source records, so the statement about a strain with caryophyllene leading refers to the document, not patient effect.

What adverse effects have been reported for caryophyllene?

None specifically for caryophyllene. Reports concern the medicinal product with batch number, not a single ingredient, so symptoms attributed to this molecule cannot be extracted. Below is what is known about cannabis dried flower as a group of raw materials, and further the only record concerning the substance itself.

Adverse effect reports are collected for medicinal products with batch numbers, not strain names, so the following concerns cannabis dried flower as a group. Most common are dry mouth, eye redness, and increased heart rate. Less frequently reported are dizziness on quick standing, daytime drowsiness, transient short-term memory impairment, and dose-dependent anxiety. Concurrent medications, especially sedatives and anticoagulants, require knowledge of the full list of preparations, not plant description. Frequencies are not given numerically because public compilations for cannabis dried flower in Poland do not separate by product.

For pure caryophyllene, there is a separate record, but it belongs to chemical law, not pharmaceutical law. The European chemical substances registry collects warnings about possible skin allergic reaction and hazards if swallowed or inhaled. This concerns industrial packaging of oil at concentrations not present in dried flower, so it is not a description of strain effects. We provide it because it is the only named warning for this molecule.

There are no data on irritating effects of caryophyllene inhaled from dried flower in our sources. Transferring industrial exposure numbers here would be guessing, so no such number is found on this page.

Which strains from Polish pharmacies have caryophyllene as the leading terpene?

Thirty of eighty-five in this set, more than any other terpene: myrcene leads in twenty, limonene in sixteen, terpinolene in seven, nerolidol and pinene six times each. These thirty strains account for 48 of 141 pharmacy list entries, led by twelve of sixteen producers in this cluster.

Leading here means: this is what the pharmacy list record states, from which this set is built. It is not a measurement on a specific package nor a producer’s declaration in a leaflet. The same trade name may be offered by several producers simultaneously, each having its own entry in the list, hence the third column: four entries for Beach Crasher, Gorilla Glue, Master Kush, and Purps, and one for most other names.

The composition of this list changes over time and there is no reason to pretend otherwise. Marketing authorizations expire, producers withdraw or add entries, and pharmacies order what is currently in stock. We keep the current state in one place, in the list of strains available in Polish pharmacies, which reflects today, not this page. The distribution of producers in the table is uneven: S-LAB appears for twenty of thirty names, Synoptis Pharma for six, Tilray for four, and the other nine entities for three or fewer.

In how many strains does caryophyllene appear, and how does this differ from the leading list?

It is in 73 of 85 strains, over two-thirds of the set, but leading in 30. These are two different lists: the first comes from terpene profile databases, the second from pharmacy records. Merging them into one number would inflate what is really known about composition.

The difference is not only formal. Among 73 strains with this compound, only 3 have matching descriptions in both profile databases, 21 have conflicting descriptions, and 49 are known from only one source. For seven entries, including Krypton and Masterpiece, caryophyllene appears only in one of the two services, though both describe the strain.

The other side of this comparison must also be considered. For 27 of 30 pharmacy list entries, profile databases confirm caryophyllene’s first place or share it with another terpene, as with Master Kush. For Lemon Haze Gelato, the database places humulene higher, and for Girl Scout Cookies and Pave S1, it ends in a tie with no terpene leading.

We do not provide profile share as a number, and this is due to calculation, not caution. This is visible in the database that publishes such numbers: in 131 entries where caryophyllene appears, the sum of all listed shares ranges from 14 to 125, with a median of 82. The total, i.e., 100, appears exactly in nine entries, and six exceed it. The record entry lists five names with the same value summing to 125, which is impossible for shares totaling 100%.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does caryophyllene have analgesic effects in humans?

This has not been demonstrated. Both studies in the cluster’s evidence base describe mice given pure compound orally or systemically. Results obtained in rodents do not translate to humans without human studies, which are absent for caryophyllene here.

Does caryophyllene bind to the CB2 receptor?

In vitro, yes. The 2008 study reported affinity Ki = 155 nM and showed that the anti-inflammatory effect disappears in mice lacking this receptor. Binding was measured on cells, not patients, so this describes mechanism, not therapeutic effect.

At what temperature does caryophyllene boil?

Our data give 257.5 degrees Celsius at atmospheric pressure. The widely circulated 130 degrees comes from measurement at reduced pressure of 14 mm Hg and is not comparable to room conditions or device-displayed temperature.

What vaporizer setting should be used for caryophyllene?

We do not provide settings. The boiling point of the pure compound is not a device setting, and our data have no measurement of caryophyllene recovery from heated dried flower. The method of using a prescription drug is determined by the doctor or pharmacist.

How many strains from Polish pharmacies have caryophyllene as the leading terpene?

Thirty of eighty-five in this set. According to profile databases, 73 strains contain it, but presence in composition is not the same as first place in pharmacy records.

Why do you not provide caryophyllene share in the profile?

Because sources do not provide denominators. In one database, the sum of all shares listed for an entry can be 14 or 125, with 100 appearing in nine entries out of 131. A number without a common basis looks like a measurement but is not.

Does caryophyllene help with sleep?

Unknown. Neither of the two studies concerned sleep or mood, so there is no basis for such a claim. Descriptions attributing sedative effects to terpenes do not come from studies collected in this base.

This page does not sell pharmacy strains: they are dispensed by pharmacies on prescription. A separate assortment is cannabis dried flower in the shop, which has no common entries with the pharmacy list.

The material is informational and does not replace medical advice. Cannabis dried flower is a pharmaceutical raw material dispensed on prescription in category Rpw, and its advertising to the public is prohibited.

Editorial text: ubucha.pl editorial team.