The myrcene terpene, also called beta-myrcene, ranks among the most abundant aroma compounds in cannabis and a big part of the earthy, musky smell of many strains. It's also behind some of cannabis culture's most repeated claims, from eating a mango first to blaming myrcene for couch lock. Here's what myrcene is, where it shows up and what research does and doesn't support.
What the myrcene terpene is
Myrcene is a monoterpene, one of the smaller, more volatile members of the terpene family. Plants make terpenes for aroma and defense, and cannabis makes them in the same resin glands, called trichomes, that produce cannabinoids. The form found in cannabis is beta-myrcene, and lab reports often list it that way.
Myrcene isn't known to produce a high on its own. In a 2022 study of cultured brain cells, myrcene at concentrations a cannabis user might realistically reach didn't change signaling at the CB1 receptor, the main target of THC. Outside cannabis, it occurs naturally in foods and drinks, from hop-forward beers to citrus.
How common beta-myrcene is in cannabis
Very common. A 2022 study of terpene data for about 43,000 flower samples from six U.S. states found that myrcene, beta-caryophyllene and limonene were present at the highest levels on average. The researchers sorted the samples into three chemical groups, and every group included samples where myrcene outranked most other terpenes. Most CBD-dominant and balanced THC-and-CBD samples were myrcene-dominant.
Highest doesn't mean high, though. Any single terpene rarely makes up more than about 1% of a flower's weight, compared with THC levels of 10 to 20% or more.
Smell and taste
Myrcene smells earthy, musky and herbal, with a mildly sweet flavor, and it's a familiar note in hops. In a strain, it usually blends with other terpenes, which is why two myrcene-forward strains can still smell quite different. Paying attention to that blend is a simple way to learn which aromas you enjoy.
Where else myrcene occurs
You've met myrcene outside cannabis many times. It's a major part of hop oil, making up as much as 70% of the essential oil in some hops, and it shows up in lemongrass, verbena, bay and citrus fruits. Mangoes contain it too, but in tiny amounts: one analysis put mango levels at roughly 0.09 to 1.29 mg per kilogram of fruit.
Mangoes and myrcene: myth vs. evidence
The idea, popular among some cannabis consumers, is that eating a mango shortly before a session makes the high stronger, supposedly because of the fruit's myrcene. The numbers don't support it. Researchers ran the numbers using 1 mg of myrcene per kilogram of mango and about 200 grams of fruit per mango. By their math, it would take well over a thousand mangoes to approach a single gram of myrcene. For comparison, an ounce of a high-myrcene strain baked into brownies would hold around 400 mg.
The mechanism looks shaky too, since myrcene didn't change CB1 signaling in that 2022 lab study, and no clinical evidence backs the trick. Enjoy the mango as a snack, but don't count on it to change your dose.
Traditional uses: lemongrass tea
Lemongrass, a plant that contains myrcene, is one of Brazil's most popular folk remedies, traditionally brewed as a tea for its supposed calming effects. Brazilian researchers put that tradition to the test in the 1980s. In a double-blind study of 50 volunteers, lemongrass tea did no better than a placebo on how quickly people fell asleep, how well they slept, dream recall or waking during the night. In a second test with 18 people prone to anxiety, the tea didn't lower anxiety either. The tradition is interesting history, not evidence.
What research explores: sedation, pain, inflammation and antioxidant activity
Most myrcene research happens in lab dishes and animals. A 2021 review found reports of anti-anxiety, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and pain-related activity, mostly from animal and cell studies. It counted only two human studies, both involving inhaled plant oils with less than 25% myrcene, and concluded that human data are lacking.
- Sedation. In a 2002 mouse study, injected myrcene at 100 to 200 mg per kilogram of body weight reduced activity, relaxed muscles and lengthened drug-induced sleep. At the higher doses, it nudged anxiety-related behavior up, not down.
- Pain and inflammation. Animal and cell studies report effects, but no studies show that myrcene relieves pain or inflammation in people.
- Antioxidant activity. These are lab findings, so far without human trials behind them.
Dose matters here. Converted from mice to people by body surface area, the standard method for comparing doses across species, 100 mg per kilogram works out to roughly 570 mg for a 70-kilogram adult, given by injection. A typical joint, about a third of a gram of flower at roughly 1% myrcene, holds about 3 mg.
The research cuts both ways. In two-year studies by the U.S. National Toxicology Program, male rats given very large oral doses of myrcene developed kidney tumors, and male mice developed liver tumors. Reviewers note those doses were roughly 100,000 times higher than typical exposure from flavorings in food, and they question how well the results apply to people. The FDA has said myrcene poses no public health risk at its intended flavoring use, but because of those animal results it stopped allowing synthetic myrcene as an added food flavoring in 2018. Either way, isolated myrcene isn't a proven supplement.
Myrcene and couch lock: what is known
Couch lock is the heavy, sink-into-the-sofa feeling some strains are known for, and myrcene often gets the blame. Some reviews repeat a cutoff of about 0.5%, with strains above it said to feel sedating and strains below it more energetic. Here's what's actually known:
- The sedation evidence comes from animals given large injected doses, not from people using cannabis.
- Human studies of myrcene are close to nonexistent, so the 0.5% cutoff hasn't been tested in controlled trials.
- Myrcene shows up across chemical groups, and indica and sativa labels don't reliably match a product's chemistry.
THC dose and tolerance are better-understood influences on how heavy a session feels. Our guides to indica strains people choose at night and the entourage effect cover how other compounds may fit in.
Finding myrcene on labels and lab results
Michigan labels must show THC and CBD content and the testing lab, plus the harvest date where it applies, among other details, but terpenes aren't on the required list. Some producers add them anyway, on the package, in an online product listing or in a lab report.
When you find a terpene panel:
- Look for beta-myrcene or β-myrcene, usually given as a percentage or in milligrams per gram.
- Check whether myrcene is the top terpene or one of several.
- Note the total terpene number for a sense of how aromatic the product is.
- Use the harvest date as a freshness cue, since terpenes fade over time.
If a label doesn't list terpenes, ask your budtender whether the producer publishes lab data. Our guide to reading a cannabis label walks through every line. Our overview of cannabis terpenes covers myrcene's neighbors, including linalool and humulene.
