Terpenes are a class of natural products consisting of unsaturated hydrocarbons bearing the general formula (C5H8)n. This chemical family contains more than 30 000 compounds. Terpenes are produced by plants (rarely also fungi and animals) and can typically be found in conifers, fruit, spice, cannabis and other herbs. Terpenes are further classified according to the number of isoprene units (carbons, respectively): hemiterpenes (C5), monoterpenes (C10), sesquiterpenes (C5), diterpenes (C20) etc. as described by Croatian-Swiss scientist (and Nobelist) Leopold Ružička.
Terpenes are often volatile oils which are responsible for typical smell of natural products. Pinene smells like pine, limonene smells like citrus and caryophyllene smells like pepper / apples. However, terpenes are never present alone in nature. Authentic natural smell contains a myriad of terpenes and other fragrant compounds, even the trace components matter and contribute to the complex matrix which is unique and hard to reproduce in a laboratory.
We do what we can to preserve the ratio of substances present in nature. We use terpenes graded for use in food or cosmetics, preferably isolated from natural sources. In some cases, we directly isolate the essential oil from natural matrix by non-invasive and gentle technique (including cold-press, steam distillation, vacuum distillation, ethanol extraction, scCO2 extraction etc.).
