Bisabolol
Bisabolol, or more formally α--bisabolol or also known as levomenol, is a natural monocyclic sesquiterpene alcohol. It is a colorless viscous oil that is the primary constituent of the essential oil from German chamomile and Myoporum crassifolium. It is poorly soluble in water and glycerin, but soluble in ethanol. The enantiomer, α--bisabolol, is also found naturally but is rare. Synthetic bisabolol is usually a racemic mixture of the two, α--bisabolol.
Bisabolol has a weak sweet floral aroma and is used in various fragrances. It has also been used for hundreds of years in cosmetics because of its perceived skin healing properties. Bisabolol is known to have anti-irritant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-microbial properties. Bisabolol is also demonstrated to enhance the percutaneous absorption of certain molecules.
A structurally related compound known as β-bisabolol differs only in the position of the tertiary alcohol functional group.
