Topic summary

Pinene

Pinene

Pinene is a collection of unsaturated bicyclic monoterpenes. Two geometric isomers of pinene are found in nature, α-pinene and β-pinene. Both are chiral, and both contain a strained four-membered ring. As the name suggests, pinenes are found in pines. Specifically, pinene is the major component of the liquid extracts of conifers. Pinenes are also found in many non-coniferous plants such as camphorweed (Heterotheca) and big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata).