Terpene

A terpene[1] is a type of natural organic compound. They are hydrocarbons made of one or more isoprene repeating units.[2] Non-hydrocarbon deriv

Terpene
Many terpenes are made from resin from conifer trees like this pine.

A terpene[1] is a type of natural organic compound. They are hydrocarbons made of one or more isoprene repeating units.[2] Non-hydrocarbon derivatives, especially those with oxygen, and hydrocarbons where hydrogen and methyl groups are added to terpenes, are called terpenoids.[3]

Types

Terpenes are grouped by the number of isoprene units. The only hemiterpene is isoprene itself, but other types of terpene have many different isomers.

Group Isoprene units Formula Example Example structure
Hemiterpene 1 C5H8 Isoprene
Monoterpenes 2 C10H16 Camphene
Limonene File:(R)-Limonene skeletal horiz.svg
Sesquiterpenes 3 C15H24 Zingiberene
Longfoliene
Diterpenes 4 C20H32 Cembrene A
Taxadiene
Triterpenes 6 C30H48 Squalene
Hopane
Tetraterpenes 8 C40H64 or C40Hx Lycopene
β-Carotene
Polyterpenes More than 8 C5nH8n cis-Polyisoprene
(natural rubber)
trans-Polyisoprene
(gutta-percha)

The tetraterpenes often include more than just the exact formula C40H64, because many important molecules in biology have more or less hydrogen while keeping the overall tetraterpene structure.

Sources

  1. ↑ The term comes from Terpentin, the Greman word for turpentine
  2. ↑ IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. (the "Gold Book") (2025). Online version: (2006–) "terpenes". doi:10.1351/goldbook.T06278
  3. ↑ IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. (the "Gold Book") (2025). Online version: (2006–) "terpenoids". doi:10.1351/goldbook.T06279

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