Pinen next to terpinolene: Island Sweet Skunk and Lilac Diesel under the same registration name

• Profile. Island Sweet Skunk leads with pinen, Lilac Diesel leads with terpinolen.
• Availability. Both are supplied by S-LAB, Synoptis Pharma, Tilray, so one order can cover both.
• Origin. The lineage of one is established, the other is not, so we cannot compare them by origin.
• What this table does not say. It does not include the declared content as a single number or price. Which strain is suitable for whom is determined by the attending physician, not by the comparison of features.

How does Island Sweet Skunk differ from Lilac Diesel?

By leading terpene and lineage. In Island Sweet Skunk, pinen takes the lead, while in Lilac Diesel, terpinolen does, and these are two completely different scents. The first strain has an unknown lineage, while the second has been described by the breeder concerning four parental lines. The declared THC content is the same for both.

The priority of the terpene is not a minor editorial detail, as it is where every strain description begins and it organizes it in pharmaceutical listings. Pinen is responsible for the scent of conifer needles and freshly cut wood, while terpinolen adds a floral note with a sour accent. On this one position, both plants diverge the most, as no other field in the available data separates them as clearly.

The second difference concerns lineage. Lilac Diesel has a lineage announced by the Ethos Genetics breeding, leading to four lines: Silver Lemon Haze, Forbidden Fruit, NYC Cherry Pie, and Citral Glue, with public descriptions stating it as a cross of crosses, not a simple combination of four plants. For Island Sweet Skunk, the lineage of this project is marked as unknown. This is not a gap to fill: available descriptions assign this strain two mutually exclusive versions of origin, one leading through Skunk #1, the other through the haze line, and the breeder has not confirmed either.

The third difference is formal and says more about the market than the plant. The genetic label for Island Sweet Skunk states in one source sativa, in another hybrid; for Lilac Diesel, there are as many as three variants of the same category in circulation. This is a commercial description, not a result of laboratory designation. Full profiles of both plants stand separately, in the text about Island Sweet Skunk and in the text about Lilac Diesel.

What connects these two strains besides a common pharmacy shelf?

Producers and registration name. Both strains are supplied to Polish pharmacies by the same three companies: S-LAB, Synoptis Pharma, and Tilray. Both go under the same medicinal product names, both have the same declared THC content range, and for both, two sources provide different compositions.

The registration name does not belong to the strain, but to the producer. Under the Cannabis flos entry, S-LAB lists both plants; the same is true under the Tilray and Synoptis Pharma entries. The patient learns which strain they received only from the packaging label, as the medicinal product name does not resolve this. Registration names carry a number, but we present them here without that component, as such a number is a value declared by the producer, not measured in the batch.

Hence comes the range, which looks the same for both: THC is within the range of 16.2-24.2%. This is not a spread of a single declaration. In circulation, there are separate registration entries with a nominal value of eighteen and a nominal value of twenty-two percent, each with its own allowable deviation from the declared value. The first gives 16.2-19.8%, the second 19.8-24.2%, and combining both gives this wide range. The same arithmetic applies to each of the two strains, so the number does not distinguish them in any way.

The set of compounds is also common. Seven names repeat in the descriptions of both strains: bisabolol, humulen, kariofilen, limonen, mircen, pinen, and terpinolen. Island Sweet Skunk adds nerolidol and ocymen, while Lilac Diesel adds linalol. However, this community is a community of two uncertain lists, not two measurements, as the sources differ in composition for both strains. Which positions are currently in circulation is shown in the listing of available strains.

What exactly do sources state about the composition of each?

Two Polish databases describe both strains and provide a different set of compounds for each. For Island Sweet Skunk, the discrepancy includes four names, while for Lilac Diesel, it also includes four, though not the same ones. None of these descriptions result from batch testing, but are transcribed tables from the supplier.

For Island Sweet Skunk, sources differ in composition in four places: humulen, limonen, mircen, and ocymen appear only in one of the two descriptions. Common remain pinen, kariofilen, terpinolen, nerolidol, and bisabolol, with the order also not being the same, as one database lists names alphabetically, while the other in an order it considers decreasing.

For Lilac Diesel, sources also differ in composition, but the divergent four looks different: bisabolol, humulen, limonen, and mircen appear on one side. On both sides stand terpinolen, kariofilen, pinen, and linalol, with terpinolen being mentioned first in both descriptions, which is the only point where both sources agree unreservedly for this strain.

We do not provide percentage shares for these names, and the reason is mathematical. For the Island Sweet Skunk entry, the numbers listed by the database sum to 88 once and to 67 another time; for Lilac Diesel, it sums to 58. Three different totals for two plants from the same site mean that it is unclear what these shares refer to. As long as the whole remains unknown, the percentage placed next to the compound name is a typographic decoration, not a result of batch testing.

How do both strains smell and where do these descriptions come from?

From the seller’s description, not from the laboratory. Island Sweet Skunk appears in the database as mango with mint and a resinous background, while Lilac Diesel is described as citrus with lavender and a sharp fuel note. Both records are sensory, made by a human on one batch, so they only roughly repeat.

The description of Island Sweet Skunk adheres to what is listed in the profile. The pine note follows pinen, the peppery follows kariofilen, and the sweet, fruity follows ocymen and mircen, with the last two compounds being mentioned by only one of the two sources. The skunky impression, from which the name derives, has no counterpart in the terpene profile: it is due to sulfur compounds, which Polish databases do not list at all.

Lilac Diesel consists of two distant impressions. The floral, lavender side of the scent is sometimes associated with linalol, which is mentioned in this profile by both sources, while the sharp, solvent-like note comes from the diesel strain family, from which the plant inherited the second part of its name. However, the name speaks of expectation, not composition: none of the compounds listed in the profile corresponds to the scent of lilac, to which the first part refers.

None of these descriptions is a promise. The scent changes with each batch, with storage conditions, and with how long the dry material has been open, and the most volatile compounds dissipate faster than the rest of the material. Two sources describing the same strain can provide a different set of notes, which is evident for both of these plants.

How long do both strains take to take effect and how long does it last?

The same, as the course is determined by the route of administration, not the name on the package. Neither for Island Sweet Skunk nor for Lilac Diesel has a separate study on the time of action been published, so the only thing that can be honestly stated is the ranges described for inhalation and oral routes of administration.

The route of administration determines the course more than the strain itself. After vaporization, the substance passes from the lungs to the blood almost immediately, so the first sensations appear after a few minutes, the intensity increases for another ten to thirty minutes, and the whole effect lasts for two to four hours. After swallowing, the material first passes through the intestine and liver, so the first sensations are waited for from half an hour to two, and the episode lasts six, sometimes eight hours. Hence comes the most common mistake with oral administration: those who think nothing is happening after thirty minutes and take another dose will receive both doses at once. The above ranges describe the route of administration, not this strain; pharmacokinetic studies for a single cultivar have not been published.

For this pair, a simple conclusion arises: the difference in terpene profile does not shift any of the above boundaries. The method of administration is determined by the attending physician, as both entries are dispensed by prescription, not chosen by the patient independently.

What has been shown for pinen and terpinolen, and what has not?

Not much and separately for each side. For pinen, there are two studies: one on mice, the other on cell culture. For terpinolen, there are also two, with the same level of evidence. None has been conducted on patients, and none concerns the entire strain, only a single compound isolated from it.

On the side of Island Sweet Skunk, there are two studies on pinen. Yang et al., 2016, Molecular Pharmacology, PMID:27573669, rodent model (mouse, oral administration): Orally administered (-)-alpha-pinen prolonged NREM sleep time in mice and shortened sleep latency (EEG/EMG recording), acting as a partial modulator binding directly to the benzodiazepine site of the GABA-A receptor, without affecting the intensity of NREM sleep or the duration of REM sleep. The second study is by Kim et al., 2015, The American Journal of Chinese Medicine, PMID:26119957, test tube model (mouse peritoneal macrophages, culture): Alpha-pinen reduced the secretion of IL-6, TNF-alpha, and nitric oxide in cultured mouse peritoneal macrophages stimulated by LPS and inhibited the expression of iNOS and COX-2 by inhibiting the MAPK and NF-kB pathways. No anxiolytic or analgesic effects of pinen have been demonstrated in humans; available data only concern its effect on sleep in mice after oral administration and its anti-inflammatory action on mouse macrophages in culture.

On the side of Lilac Diesel, studies concern terpinolen. Ito and Ito, 2013, Journal of Natural Medicines, PMID:23339024, rodent model (mouse, inhalation): Inhaled terpinolen exhibited sedative effects in mice; the effect persisted even in mice with impaired olfaction, indicating that the action occurred after the compound was absorbed into the body through the nose, not solely through scent perception. Okumura et al., 2012, Oncology Letters, PMID:22740904, test tube model (human K562 cell line): Terpinolen reduced the level of AKT1 protein and inhibited the proliferation of human K562 leukemia cells in culture; the study did not concern pain, sleep, or anxiety. No effects of terpinolen on pain, anxiety, or sleep have been demonstrated in humans or in any animal pain model; available data only include sedative effects after inhalation in mice and effects on the leukemia cell line in vitro.

Besides these four studies, there remains patient reports and seller material. Separate listings of studies on pinen and on terpinolen stand in texts dedicated to these compounds.

What adverse effects have been reported for each of these two strains?

Separately, nothing has been reported for either, as the safety monitoring system does not recognize strain names. Reports are attributed to the medicinal product with a batch number, and under the same registration name, both plants are listed, so it is impossible to separate reports between one and the other.

Reports of adverse effects are collected for the medicinal product with a batch number, not for the strain name, so the following concerns hemp flower as a group of raw materials. The most frequently reported effects are dry mouth, red eyes, and increased heart rate. Less commonly described are dizziness upon rapid standing, daytime drowsiness, and transient worsening of short-term memory, as well as anxiety that increases with dosage. A separate issue is medications taken concurrently, especially sedatives and those affecting coagulation: their assessment requires knowledge of the entire list of preparations, not just the description of the plant. We do not provide the frequency of these symptoms numerically, as public listings for hemp flower in Poland do not separate them by individual products.

A different number of reports would not be evidence of a difference in safety, even if someone counted it. It depends on how many packages of a given entry have been put into circulation and how long that entry has been available. At the time of data collection, Island Sweet Skunk had no entries marked as available in the database, while Lilac Diesel had three, so the observation field is different for them.

What do the boiling points of pinen and terpinolen say about vaporization?

Less than is usually written. The public database provides the boiling temperature for both compounds measured together with pressure, but the dry material is not a pure terpene, and the device setting does not equal the temperature of the material in the chamber. Therefore, the number alone does not indicate what will evaporate from a specific portion.

For pinen, the PubChem database states 156.2 degrees Celsius at a pressure of 760 mm Hg, for terpinolen 184 degrees under the same conditions. Both compounds belong to six of the eleven terpenes of this project for which the database provides such a pair of numbers at all. For the remaining five, the record is either without pressure or does not exist at all, so comparing them in one column gives incomparable numbers.

For Island Sweet Skunk, four out of nine listed compounds do not have a comparable number in the database, while for Lilac Diesel, two out of eight. Therefore, comparing both profiles by boiling temperature is incomplete from the start, regardless of how accurately someone conducts it.

The boiling point describes a pure compound in a flask, not the resin in which the terpene is dissolved along with the rest of the ingredients. Additionally, the vaporizer setting does not equal the temperature of the dry material, which is separately discussed in the text about the difference between the device setting and the temperature of the material.

Frequently asked questions

Do Island Sweet Skunk and Lilac Diesel have the same terpene composition?

No. Seven names repeat in the descriptions of both strains, but Island Sweet Skunk additionally has nerolidol and ocymen, while Lilac Diesel has linalol. The leading compound is different for them: pinen versus terpinolen.

Why do both strains have the same THC content range?

Because the range does not describe the plant, but a collection of registration entries. For both strains, there are entries with a nominal value of eighteen and a nominal value of twenty-two percent in circulation, and combining their allowable deviations gives the same wide range.

Does pinen act differently than terpinolen?

This has not been tested in humans for either. Available studies are on mice and in cell cultures and concern a single compound, not the entire strain, in which that compound constitutes a fraction of the composition.

Is either of these two strains stronger?

Nothing in the declarations suggests that. Both go under the same registration names and have the same declared THC content range, so the difference in potency cannot be read from this data.

Where does each of these strains come from?

Lilac Diesel has a lineage announced by the Ethos Genetics breeding leading to four lines. For Island Sweet Skunk, available descriptions provide two mutually exclusive versions of origin, so in this comparison, the lineage remains unknown.

Is store-grade flower the same as these two strains?

No, it is a different category. In the store category, the flower is hemp flower with cannabidiol, sold over the counter, while both strains described in this text are pharmaceutical raw materials dispensed by prescription in the Rpw category.

Hemp flower is a pharmaceutical raw material dispensed by prescription in the Rpw category. The material is informational and does not replace the advice of the attending physician. The editorial text was prepared by the editorial team of ubucha.pl.