Caryophyllene oxide

Caryophyllene oxide is what beta-caryophyllene becomes after it takes on oxygen. The smell is dry, woody, and slightly peppery, milder than the clove-pepper of caryophyllene itself. Clove oil and black pepper are the outside-flower references, same family of scent as the parent molecule.

Chemists have known the oxide as an oxidation product of caryophyllene for a long time. It also turned up in work on cannabis aroma: trained detection dogs were associated with this oxidized note more than with caryophyllene alone, which is why the name appears in older scent papers as well as on modern lab sheets.

On a flower report it is a minor line when it appears. The caryophyllene page covers beta-caryophyllene. This page is the oxide. Peppery profiles get discussed with both.