What is beta-caryophyllene (BCP)?
5 min read · Terpene Republic
Beta-caryophyllene — BCP, or β-caryophyllene — is a terpene: one of the aromatic compounds plants make. It is the peppery note in black pepper, the warm edge of clove, and a large part of copaiba oil. It is also in hops, rosemary, oregano, basil, cinnamon and cannabis. If you have ever ground pepper over a meal you have eaten it.
Why this particular terpene gets talked about
Most terpenes are studied for their scent. BCP is different because of a 2008 paper from Jürg Gertsch's group at ETH Zürich and the University of Bern, which showed that BCP binds selectively to the CB2 receptor — one of the two main receptors of the body's endocannabinoid system. That is why BCP is sometimes called a "dietary cannabinoid": it is a food compound that happens to act on a cannabinoid receptor. It does not bind the CB1 receptor, the one in the brain that THC acts on, which is why BCP is non-psychoactive.
Sesquiterpene, not cannabinoid
Chemically BCP is a sesquiterpene — a 15-carbon terpene with an unusual nine-membered ring fused to a four-membered one. It is not a cannabinoid in the regulatory sense: it is neither CBD nor THC, and in Australia and New Zealand it is regulated as a food ingredient and flavouring, not as a controlled substance or a medicine.
What Cannanda does with it
Cannanda's founder, Lee Know, a Canadian naturopath (ND), built the first commercial product formulated around BCP in 2016 and named it CB2 oil after the receptor. The CB2 Hemp Seed Oil carries roughly 20 mg of BCP per 5 mL teaspoon in a base of cold-pressed hemp seed oil; the CB2 Wellness vial is the terpene blend on its own, for aromatherapy and topical use; the softgels hold about 10 mg each. CB2 Wellness and CB2 Cool: No THC, No CBD (they are made without hemp seed oil). The hemp seed oils and softgels have no added THC or CBD; they carry only the natural trace of both found in hemp seed.
Where the BCP comes from
Cannanda steam-distils its terpenes from botanical sources — orange, pine, clove and sage — rather than from cannabis. That matters for a practical reason: the products are legal to buy without a prescription in Australia and New Zealand.
Why you will not find a list of benefits here
You will find plenty of claims about BCP online. In Australia and New Zealand, a food or supplement cannot be advertised as treating or preventing a condition, and we keep to that on every page of this site. What we can tell you is what the product is, what it contains, how it is made and how people use it. For anything medical, talk to your practitioner.
Cannanda CB2 products are foods and aromatherapy products, not medicines. They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you have a medical condition, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or take medication, talk to your healthcare practitioner.