Borneol

Borneol is a bicyclic terpene alcohol (C₁₀H₁₈O) with a long history in traditional medicine. It appears as a white crystalline solid with a distinctive camphor-like aroma and exists in two mirror-image forms found across rosemary, camphor, mint, and various cinnamon species. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, borneol has been documented in the Bencao Gangmu (Li Shizhen, 1596), one of TCM’s foundational texts, for centuries.

Modern research has revealed that borneol activates TRPM8 receptors, producing a cooling sensation comparable to menthol (Vogt-Eisele et al., 2007). Dextro-borneol has been approved in China as part of a combination therapy for stroke treatment (edaravone/dexborneol) (Xu et al., 2019). Borneol also demonstrates analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and insect-repellent properties. In cannabis, it contributes a grounding, camphoreous quality and is associated with calming, sedative effects.