Alpha & Beta Pinene
Alpha and Beta Pinene are terpenes largely found in conifers including pine, and are often found together. They have both been found to elicit a swathe of beneficial effects, including antibiotic resistance modulation, anti-proliferative, anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, pain-reducing, gastroprotective, anti-stress, cytoprotective, neuroprotective, and pancreas-protective effects (1).
The bulk of the research concerning these compounds focuses on their neuroprotective effects, which are quite significant. Alpha pinene has been demonstrated to protect the brain against oxidative stress via upregulation of the antioxidant enzymes catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and heme-oxygenase 1 (2). Alpha pinene has also been shown to protect neurons against deleterious apopotosis (3,4). Alpha and Beta Pinene have both been suggested to protect memory by potentially reducing amyloid beta fibril formation (5,6).
Key references:
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Neuroprotective (2)
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Reduced oxidative stress (3)
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Anti-inflammatory (4)
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Reduced physiological symptoms of stress (1)
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Neuroprotective, learning & memory protection (5,6)
Alpha Pinene
Beta Pinene
1 - Salehi, B., Upadhyay, S., Erdogan Orhan, I., Kumar Jugran, A., LD Jayaweera, S., A Dias, D., & C Cho, W. (2019). Therapeutic potential of α-and β-pinene: A miracle gift of nature. Biomolecules, 9(11), 738.
2 - Porres-Martínez, M., González-Burgos, E., Carretero, M. E., & Gómez-Serranillos, M. P. (2016). In vitro neuroprotective potential of the monoterpenes α-pinene and 1, 8-cineole against H2O2-induced oxidative stress in PC12 cells. Zeitschrift für Naturforschung C, 71(7-8), 191-199.
3 - Khoshnazar, M., Parvardeh, S., & Bigdeli, M. R. (2020). Alpha-pinene exerts neuroprotective effects via anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic mechanisms in a rat model of focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion. Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases, 29(8), 104977.
4 - Khoshnazar, M., Bigdeli, M. R., Parvardeh, S., & Pouriran, R. (2019). Attenuating effect of α‐pinene on neurobehavioural deficit, oxidative damage and inflammatory response following focal ischaemic stroke in rat. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 71(11), 1725-1733.
5 - Shin, M., Liu, Q. F., Choi, B., Shin, C., Lee, B., Yuan, C., & Cho, K. S. (2020). Neuroprotective effects of limonene (+) against Aβ42-induced neurotoxicity in a Drosophila model of Alzheimer’s disease. Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin, 43(3), 409-417.
6 - Lee, G. Y., Lee, C., Park, G. H., & Jang, J. H. (2017). Amelioration of scopolamine-induced learning and memory impairment by α-pinene in C57BL/6 mice. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2017.