Hydrocarbons, terpenes, and isoprene

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So many ingredients on shopping labels look like a serious list of dangerous chemicals you can barely read, let alone pronounce.  Even on our pure essential oils, the list can be somewhat intimidating.  So, we’re going to tackle some of these chemicals found in specific pure essential oils, and let you know just what they are.

The terms ‘Hydrocarbons’, ‘terpenes’, and ‘isoprene’ are all interconnected. So, we’ll let you know about all three of them in this month’s blog spot.

In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrocarbon) – these molecules make an astounding array of products we take for granted.  Hydrocarbons are the building blocks of all things organic.  Our oils come from organic materials, and so it follows that hydrocarbons would be listed. Most compounds found in essential oils are built with terpenoid molecules.  They have a carbon backbone and contain either 10, 15, 20, or 30 carbon atoms. They can be found listed as mono-terpenes, and sesqui-terpenes, but they don’t make much sense unless you know they are built from isoprene units.  The following chart makes it easier to see:

Isoprene units      Carbon Units

Hemiterpenes            1                         5
Monoterpenes           2                      10
Sesquiterpenes          3                      15
Diterpenes                   4                      20
Triterpenes                 6                      30
Tetraterpenes            8                      40

So you can see, a monoterpene is simply a terpenoid molecule built from 2 isoprene units which each have 5 carbon atoms.