| Description | (-)-α-Pinene ((1S)-(-)-Alpha-Pinene) enhances the quantity of NREMS without affecting the intensity of NREMS by prolonging GABAergic synaptic transmission, acting as a partial modulator of GABAA-BZD receptors and directly binding to the BZD binding site of GABAA receptor. |
| In vitro | (1S)-(-)-Alpha-Pinene significantly increased the duration of non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREMS) and reduced the sleep latency by oral administration without affecting duration of rapid eye movement sleep and delta activity. (1S)-(-)-Alpha-Pinene potentiated the GABAA receptor-mediated synaptic response by increasing the decay time constant of sIPSCs in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons[1]. These effects of (1S)-(-)-Alpha-Pinene on sleep and inhibitory synaptic response were mimicked by zolpidem, acting as a modulator for GABAA-BZD receptors, and fully antagonized by flumazenil, an antagonist for GABAA-BZD receptor. (1S)-(-)-Alpha-Pinene was found to bind to aromatic residues of α1- and -γ2 subunits of GABAA-BZD receptors in the molecular model[1]. |
| Synonyms | 左旋-α-蒎烯, 左旋-alpha-蒎烯, (1S)-(-)-Alpha-Pinene |
| molecular weight | 136.23 |
| Molecular formula | C10H16 |
| CAS | 7785-26-4 |
| Storage | Powder: -20°C for 3 years | In solvent: -80°C for 1 year |
| Solubility | DMSO: 50 mg/mL (367.03 mM), Sonication is recommended. |
| References | 1. Yang H, et al. α-Pinene, a Major Constituent of Pine Tree Oils, Enhances Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep in Mice through GABAA-benzodiazepine Receptors. Mol Pharmacol. 2016 Nov;90(5):530-539. 2. Kamaitytė-Bukelskienė L, Ložienė K, Labokas J. Dynamics of Isomeric and Enantiomeric Fractions of Pinene in Essential Oil of Picea abies Annual Needles during Growing Season. Molecules. 2021 Apr 8;26(8):2138. 3. Haselton AT, et al. Repellency of α-pinene against the house fly, Musca domestica. Phytochemistry. 2015 Sep;117:469-475. |