People search: “terpenes for pain”
Pain and Terpenes: What Published Research Has Examined
Pain-related searches are among the most common in this category — and the most important place to be direct: no hemp product is approved to address any condition, no hemp product may be marketed for pain, and nothing on this page is medical advice. What exists in the literature is early-stage laboratory research, summarized neutrally below.
What researchers have examined
Beta-caryophyllene was identified in 2008 as a selective CB2 receptor agonist in laboratory research, which prompted a line of preclinical studies using rodent models of inflammatory and pain-related responses. Myrcene was examined in mouse nociception models as far back as 1990. Alpha-humulene has been studied in rodent inflammation models. All of this is animal and cell research on isolated compounds.
What the research can’t tell you
Rodent pain models are notoriously poor predictors of human outcomes, and isolated-compound studies say nothing about hemp products as sold. No human trial supports any pain-related use of hemp flower, and this site makes no such claim anywhere.
Sources
- Gertsch J, et al. (2008). Beta-caryophyllene is a dietary cannabinoid. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(26):9099–9104. [doi]
- Rao VS, Menezes AM, Viana GS. (1990). Effect of myrcene on nociception in mice. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 42(12):877–878. [doi]
- Fernandes ES, et al. (2007). Anti-inflammatory effects of compounds alpha-humulene and (−)-trans-caryophyllene isolated from the essential oil of Cordia verbenacea. European Journal of Pharmacology, 569(3):228–236. [doi]
More in the library: all research summaries · the terpene guide