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. In fact, adding terpenes to health and beauty products, cosmetics, vaporizer cartridges and e-juice, foods and beverages, and aromatherapy infusions is a great way to add an extra boost of body-nourishing benefits to your products and make THC/CBD products more effective. This week, we're diving deeper into the funky, earthy, camphor-like terpene isolate known as Borneol.
Borneol Isolate
Borneol terpenes have been studied pretty extensively over the last several years for their unique properties, though they have been used in medicine for hundreds of years. The effective anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving terpene isolate is beloved for its woody, camphor-like, and cooling mint-like aroma and is used frequently in topical products to help clear congestion and improve breathing.
However, they've shown lots of promise for other health benefits and are used frequently in aromatherapy infusions as well as in medicines for their anxiety-reducing and sleep-improving effects. Borneol terpenes are frequently used as a flavoring and fragrance-enhancing agent in many processed foods and beverages, including fermented teas like kombucha. It offers a refreshing sweetness or earthy, spicy aromas and flavors to foods and fragrances. When introduced to other terpenes and cannabinoids, Borneol has shown to boost the effects of cannabinoids and other terpenes.
Below, we've covered everything you need to know about the uses and effects of Borneol terpenes as well as where you can find them in nature. Just remember that science doesn't fully understand all of the effects and uses of Borneol terpenes yet. While we have a basic understanding, further study on humans is still necessary to support and solidify all of the findings. Always talk to your doctor before beginning a new dietary supplement, even one with naturally occurring terpenes like Borneol.
Benefits of Borneol Terpenes
Many studies have been published surrounding the effects of Borneol, but keep in mind, terpene studies primarily cover terpene profiles and include other terpenes. The entourage effect shows that terpenes are stronger and more efficient at promoting effects when they're together versus when they're alone. Several studies have been conducted on essential oils containing 20% or more of Borneol terpenes both internally and externally.
Externally, Borneol is exceptionally effective at killing bacteria, microbes, and viruses, including the herpes virus. You can also find them in many bug sprays and insect poisons as these terpenes are toxic to pest insects like mosquitos. That said, they're also found in citronella candles to help repel bugs. They have also displayed potent pain-relieving effects when used topically on aching joints and muscles.
In aromatherapy infusions, Borneol was found to have a notable effect on mood, creating a generous mental lift and a keen sense of focus. It also showed potent anti-anxiety effects and was found to improve sleep by making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep. Many people compare its scent to walking through a balsam fir or camphor forest with a notable cooling mintiness.
When taken internally, Borneol was also found to help kill and expel internal parasites. More importantly, Borneol has been used in medicine for hundreds of years for its unique ability to improve absorption rates by acting as a carrier for some medications, including SSRI mood stabilizers.
Like all terpenes, it's a potent anti-inflammatory that seems to excel against gingivitis. It's also shown to act as an antioxidant and an anti-coagulant, improving heart health and the functionality of the circulatory system and reducing the risk of a stroke. In the same vein, it was also found to help improve digestion and make breathing easier by acting as a decongestant. Interestingly, Borneol also displayed its ability to improve bone health by lowering the rate of bone resorption. It can also stimulate immune system responses and improve overall health.
All in all, Borneol is a powerful terpene boasting a variety of health and therapeutic applications. Further study on this powerful terpene is needed to accurately assess its medicinal and wellness value, but science is already taking a closer look into this rarer terpene. We're excited to see how useful this terpene will be in due time.
Natural Sources of Borneol Terpenes
Borneol terpenes are found naturally in a lot of different plants from fir and camphor trees to tea leaves. They are known for their cooling mint-like scent and a pungent, funky earthiness, and are found in higher concentrations in plants like citronella, cardamom, sage, thyme, rosemary, and ginger. Borneol can also be found in smaller concentrations in hops, catnip, and cannabis strains like Golden Goat, Amnesia Haze, and K13-Haze. Typically Borneol terpenes are found in plants that are high in Camphor, Eucalyptol, Pinene, Farensene, and Bisabolene.
TLDR; Borneol Terpenes:
- Anti-inflammatory
- Anti-bacterial
- Anti-viral
- Anti-microbial
- Anti-parasite
- Insecticidal
- Pain-reliever
- Antioxidant
- Anti-coagulant
- Acts as a carrier, making it easier to absorb medications
- Improves breathing and helps with congestion
- Inhibits bone resorption
- Sedative
- Reduces anxiety
- Boosts immune system
- Improves digestion
Common Uses of Borneol Terpenes
Whether through your favorite fruits and spices or through an aromatherapy diffuser, Borneol isolate smells and tastes great and does some pretty cool stuff both externally and within your body.
Borneol terpenes can be safely added to all sorts of products to reduce inflammation, improve circulation and digestion, treat coughs, and help you get to sleep. 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 Borneol terpenes to foods and beverages to enjoy the anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and pain-relieving properties within the whole body. A dash of water-soluble Borneol terpenes in your favorite foods or beverages add a cooling and complex earthy flavor that can help to make you feel more relaxed, reduce stress and drift off to a peaceful sleep.
Add Borneol terpenes to essential oil diffusers and aromatherapy infusions to kill airborne bacteria and microbes to help you breathe easier. The earthy, camphor-like aroma is also great for promoting a relaxing, stress-free atmosphere to your daily routine or a great way to unwind at night.
Add Borneol terpenes to cannabis concentrates and hemp oils made from strains with higher floral or earth terpene content, such as Farensene, Bisabolene, and b-Caryophyllene since Borneol is often found alongside these terpenes and offers similar flavors and effects. Borneol terpenes can make them smell and taste better and boost the potency of THC/CBD or other cannabinoid effects in a documented phenomenon known as the Entourage Effect.
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 Borneol 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.