Cubebenes are a pair of chemical compounds, classified as

sesquiterpene Sesquiterpenes are a class of terpenes that consist of three isoprene units and often have the molecular formula C15H24. Like monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes may be cyclic or contain rings, including many unique combinations. Biochemical modificat ...

s, first isolated from ''

Piper cubeba ''Piper cubeba'', cubeb or tailed pepper is a plant in genus ''Piper'', cultivated for its fruit and essential oil. It is mostly grown in Java and Sumatra, hence sometimes called Java pepper. The fruits are gathered before they are ripe, and ...

'' berries, known as cubebs. The

volatile oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...

from the distillation of cubebs is a pale green or blue-yellow viscous liquid with a warm woody, slightly camphoraceous odor consisting of cubebene which comes in two forms, α- and β-cubebene, both with the molecular formula C₁₅H₂₄. They differ only in the position of a

double bond In chemistry, a double bond is a covalent bond between two atoms involving four bonding electrons as opposed to two in a single bond. Double bonds occur most commonly between two carbon atoms, for example in alkenes. Many double bonds exist betwee ...

which is endocyclic (part of the five-membered ring) in α-cubebene, but

exocyclic In organic chemistry, an alicyclic compound contains one or more all-carbon rings which may be either saturated or unsaturated, but do not have aromatic character. Alicyclic compounds may have one or more aliphatic side chains attached. The ...

in β-cubebene.

References

{{reflist Sesquiterpenes