| Beta pinene is a colorless liquid, soluble in alcohol, but not water. It has a woody-green pine-like smell. It occurs naturally in rosemary, parsley, dill, basil and rose, There are two structural isomers found in nature: α-pinene and β-pinene. As the name suggests, both forms are important constituents of pine resin; they are also found in the resins of many other conifers, and more widely in other plants. Both are also used by many insects in their chemical communication system. Selective oxidation of pinene with some catalysts in chemical industry give many components for pharmacy, artificial odorants and so on. The primary oxidation product is verbenone. |
