Myrcene
Myrcene, or β-myrcene, is an olefinic natural [organic compound hydrocarbon. It is more precisely classified as a monoterpene. Monoterpenes are dimers of isoprenoid precursors, and myrcene is one of the most important. It is a component of the essential oil of several plants including bay, cannabis, ylang-ylang, wild thyme, parsley, and hops. It is produced mainly semi-synthetically from myrcia, from which it gets its name. It is a key intermediate in the production of several fragrances. α-Myrcene is the name for the structural isomer 2-methyl-6-methylene-1,7-octadiene, which is not found in nature and is little used.
Biosynthesis and production
Terpenes arise naturally from dehydration of terpenol geraniol. It could in principle be extracted from any number of plants, for example wild thyme, the leaves of which contain up to 40% by weight of myrcene. The current route to commercial samples is by the pyrolysis (400 °C) of β-pinene, which is obtained from turpentine.
