Formula	CAS
C15H24O	128-37-0

Background
Cadinene is a sesquiterpene lactone occurring in essential oils from Juniper species and cedars (oil of cade). It consists of nine different isomers. Cadinene is the trivial chemical name of a number of isomeric hydrocarbons that occur in a wide variety of essential oil-producing plants. The name is derived from that of the Cade juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus L.), the wood of which yields an oil from which cadinene isomers were first isolated. Chemically, the cadinenes are bicyclic sesquiterpenes. The term “cadinene” has sometimes been used in a broad sense to refer to any sesquiterpene with the so-called cadalane (4-isopropyl-1,6-dimethyldecahydronaphthalene) carbon skeleton. Because of the large number of known double-bond and stereochemical isomers, this class of compounds has been subdivided into four subclasses based on the relative stereochemistry at the isopropyl group and the two bridgehead carbon atoms. The name cadinene is now properly used only for the first subclass below, which includes the compounds originally isolated from cade oil. Only one enantiomer of each subclass is depicted, with the understanding that the other enantiomer bears the same subclass name.

Synonyms
Cadinenes
b-Cadinene

Uses

Cross-Reactions
Juniper tar  

Unusual Reactions

Back to list of contact allergens



Author(s):
Allergology: background information on allergens.