If you're just getting started with terpenes, odds are you're wondering how each isolate can be used. Terpene isolates can be used in hemp, CBD, and cannabis products as well as concentrates, vapes, foods, beverages, and aromatherapy infusions. This week, we're diving deeper into the energizing, pine-scented terpene isolate known as beta-Pinene, not to be confused with alpha-Pinene.
b-Pinene Isolate
Beta-Pinene is one of two major Pinene terpenes. Alpha and beta-Pinene are both present in cannabis and add to its unique citrusy and piney flavor profile. Alpha and beta-Pinene work together in concert with each other and with other cannabinoids to moderate the effects of cannabis and other terpenes within the body.
b-Pinene can be found in lime peels, ginger, mace, rosemary, and sage, just like a-Pinene. On the chemical level, these hydrocarbon compounds are mirror images of each other, much like THC/CBD. The difference between the two is very slight in the shape and levels of concentration.
While a-Pinene and b-Pinene look like twins and promote similar effects, they are slightly different. Beta Pinene is always found in the same plants as a-Pinene, just in much lower quantities. It’s rarely ever found on its own. In any given plant that contains Pinene, there is usually about 20% b-Pinene and 80% a-Pinene. They balance each other and work together in a phenomenon known as the entourage effect.
Pinene terpenes are responsible for the way plants smell and taste. Both a-Pinene and b-Pinene promote similar scents, flavors, and effects. They have antibacterial, antiviral, antimicrobial, and antifungal properties. They’ve also shown to improve memory, help open the airways, reduce pain and inflammation, and help prevent certain cancers from spreading.
Below, you’ll learn all about the health benefits of beta-Pinene. Before adding Pinene to your diet or daily regimen, be sure to consult your doctor to make sure Pinene terpenes are right for you. Always be sure to use water-soluble pinene terpenes for foods, beverages, and dietary supplements.
Benefits of b-Pinene
b-Pinene has mostly been studied from a toxicology standpoint. For example, Turpentine (made from pine tree resin) has many industrial uses. However, it can also be used as a topical pain reliever. Applied as oil, turpentine reduced pain in joints those with rheumatoid arthritis. In one study, pinene terpenes were found to reduce pain and inflammation.
In the same vein, reducing inflammation makes it possible for inflamed airways to clear up. One study highlighted the benefits of Pinene terpenes as a bronchodilator that eased the symptoms of asthma and COPD.
There is also evidence to suggest that b-Pinene can help improve memory. Many neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s are caused by oxidative imbalances in the brain, which Pinene can help reduce. Its neuroprotective properties may also help with convulsions. It may also help mitigate some of the effects of THC, which can cause mental impairment
Another similarity between a-Pinene and b-Pinene is the evidence suggesting that b-Pinene can boost the ability of THC to kill cancer cells. Many studies in animal models and petri dish cell cultures have been conducted on terpenes with results highlighting that terpenes can help cause programmed cell death in many types of cancer cells. In some cases, Pinene terpenes can prevent cancer cells from reproducing.
b-Pinene, like most other terpenes, is also naturally anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal in nature. One study shows that b-Pinene can battle staphylococcus and e-coli bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics. Further, b-Pinene also showed to boost the effectiveness of antibiotics in people. This is why many industrial cleaning products are pine-scented -- they harness the power of anti-bacterial terpenes.
Natural Sources of b-Pinene
Beta-Pinene is found everywhere that alpha-Pinene is found. Pinene terpenes are the most abundantly found terpenes on earth and exist in most plants, pine trees, and cannabis. It can also be found in mace, nutmeg, eucalyptus, fennel, sage, and ginger. It can also be found in high concentrations in Turpentine, which is made from pine tree sap.
Many cannabis strains contain high concentrations of alpha-Pinene, but beta-Pinene terpenes are significantly less concentrated. If a strain contains alpha-Pinene, it most likely contains a little bit of beta-Pinene terpenes, too. Some strains high in Pinene terpenes include Critical Mass, Cannatonic, Grape Ape, and Harlequin.
TLDR; b-Pinene Terpene Benefits
Much like a-Pinene, b-Pinene offers similar benefits. Evidence suggests that alpha-Pinene and beta-Pinene work together to make each other stronger, which is why they’re always found together.
Antibacterial
Antifungal
Antibiotic
Antiviral
Anti-inflammatory
Anti-anxiety
Anti-cancer
Anti-tumor
Increases alertness
Reduces oils in the skin
Reduces pain
Reduces gastric ulcers
Opens airways and improves breathing
Common Uses for b-Pinene Terpenes
Whether through your favorite fruits and herbs or through a diffuser, b-Pinene isolate smells and tastes great and works wonders within your body.
b-Pinene terpenes can be safely added to all sorts of products to encourage relaxation and sleep as well as a host of potential health benefits. It can safely be eaten, drank, infused, and inhaled with a little bit of mixing. It can also be used to improve cannabis products like vapes and concentrates that may have lost cannabinoid potency or terpene content during extraction
Add b-Pinene terpenes to foods and beverages to enjoy the energizing, memory-improving, and anti-inflammatory properties within the whole body. A few drops of water-soluble beta-pinene terpenes in your morning tea adds an energetic burst of lemon and pine that can help you get moving and stay moving.
Add b-Pinene terpenes to essential oil diffusers and aromatherapy infusions to enjoy a powerful pine scent that promotes long-lasting energy and helps kill airborne bacteria, viruses, microbes, and fungal spores.
Add b-Pinene terpenes to concentrates and hemp oils made from strains with higher b-Pinene content like AK-47, Blue Dream, and Bubba Kush. b-Pinene terpenes can make them smell and taste better and boost the potency of THC/CBD effects.
Just keep in mind that not all terpenes are created equal. Different terpenes will always have different effects, but they're not all made the same. We know you have a choice when it comes to terpene providers, but no other choice comes close to our level of quality.
At Peak Supply Co, our b-Pinene Terpene Isolates are extracted from all-natural food-grade fruit, flower, and nut oils in our state-of-the-art facility. With our proprietary extraction and refinement method, we remove plant materials and any leftover impurities, leaving behind the purest terpene isolates on the market. Best of all, we even offer sample packs so you can try them all.