Valencene

Valencene is a sesquiterpene with the smell of sweet, fresh citrus, and it takes its name from Valencia oranges, where it is especially abundant. A 2024 review in Frontiers in Microbiology notes that it also occurs in grapefruit, tangerines, nectarines and mangoes, that it is concentrated far more in the peel than in the flesh, and that orange-oil producers have long used it as a marker of oil quality and fruit maturity. Wikipedia adds that valencene is the precursor of nootkatone, the compound mainly responsible for grapefruit's aroma. Because natural extraction yields are low, much commercial valencene is now made by fermentation.

In cannabis, valencene is a minor terpene; none of the classic strains in this guide lists it among its main terpenes. Research on its effects is early. The 2024 review describes insect-repellent effects and possible use in mosquito control, and a 2022 study in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy found that oral valencene reduced swelling and inflammatory markers in several mouse models of inflammation.

Boiling point: PubChem gives only a reduced-pressure value of about 123 °C at 11 mmHg, and we found no sourced value at normal pressure, so it should not be compared directly with atmospheric boiling points.