Camphor Oil Chemical Composition: What Is in the Bottle
The composition of camphor oil depends on three choices: which chemotype of the tree was distilled, which part of it, and where the distillation cut was taken. White camphor oil is usually led by 1,8-cineole, limonene, p-cymene and alpha-pinene, with little camphor and, in a properly cut oil, safrole at or below detection.
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Most composition tables for camphor oil list five or six compounds with a percentage beside each, as if one oil existed. It does not. The same species yields oils that are mostly camphor, mostly cineole, mostly linalool or mostly borneol, and the fraction sold as white camphor oil is a fourth thing again. This page lays out the published numbers for each, says which ones come from which study, and shows where we have no figure of our own.
One tree, three layers of variation
The first layer is the tree. A 2023 survey of 974 trees from 35 populations in 13 Chinese provinces sorted leaf oils by dominant compound: eucalyptol (1,8-cineole) ranged 11.63 to 65.33% in 249 trees, linalool 11.23 to 96.45% in 140, camphor 13.89 to 87.69% in 153, and trans-nerolidol 15.24 to 88.66% in 234. The authors conclude that environmental factors strongly affect both yield and profile. We map those types in the chemotype guide.
The second layer is the plant part. A 2022 review reports about 74% camphor in a camphor-type leaf oil, 51.3% D-camphor in a bark oil and 28.1% in a fruit oil, and it notes that the fruit oil's top constituent was safrole at 29.0%. The third layer is the cut, covered in how camphor oil is made: after the crystal is removed, the residual oil is split by boiling point, and the position of the split sets the profile of the white fraction.
The numbers, by material
| Material | Main constituents reported | Source and caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Camphor-type leaf oil | Camphor about 74% (73.8% in the review table) | Molecules 2022 review. A Nepal sample reached 98.0% camphor while another site gave 36.5%. |
| Cineole-type leaf oil | 1,8-cineole averaging 49.8% in one study, 53.5% in another; alpha-pinene about 4.5% | Molecules 2022 review, citing two primary studies |
| Linalool-type leaf oil | Linalool 83.4 to 86.0% in two samples; 26.6% in another study | BMC Genomics 2018; Molecules 2022 review. Same label, very different oils. |
| Borneol-type leaf oil | Borneol 79.8% and 97.7% in two samples | BMC Genomics 2018 |
| Fruit oil | Safrole 29.0%, camphor 28.1%, linalool 12.8% | Molecules 2022 review, one study |
| White fraction, EU specification | 1,8-cineole 27 to 43%, limonene 18 to 27%, p-cymene 6 to 15%, alpha-pinene 4 to 10%; camphor below 0.1%; safrole below 0.0002% | EFSA 2022; six batches averaged 34.65%, 23.15%, 10.87% and 7.21% for the four main compounds |
| White fraction, one commercial batch | 1,8-cineole 34.15%, alpha-pinene 16.47%, limonene 13.18%, camphor 9.77%, delta-3-carene 7.52%, alpha-terpineol 5.25%, p-cymene 4.29% | GC-MS report, analysed 2021; a single lot from one seller |
Read the last two rows together. Both are called white camphor oil, and both are cineole-led. But one has camphor below 0.1% and the other nearly 10%, and the second has far more alpha-pinene and delta-3-carene. The Tisserand Institute's general statement that the fractions hold camphor at "up to 9%, more typically 3%" sits between them. Our position is that the useful marker of a white fraction is not a high camphor figure. A cineole-led profile with low camphor and a stated safrole result is what the evidence describes.
The constituents, one by one
| Compound | What it is | Odour as recorded by PubChem | Where it matters here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camphor | A bicyclic ketone, C10H16O, solid at room temperature | "Fragrant and penetrating" | Dominant in camphor-type trees; minor in the white cut |
| 1,8-Cineole | An oxygenated monoterpene, also called eucalyptol | "Camphor-like odor" | The leading marker of the white fraction |
| Limonene | A monoterpene hydrocarbon | "Citrus odor" | Second-largest in the EU white oil specification |
| p-Cymene | An aromatic monoterpene | "Sweetish aromatic odor"; weak citrus when pure | 6 to 15% in the EU specification |
| Alpha-pinene | A bicyclic monoterpene hydrocarbon | "Characteristic odor of pine" | 4 to 10% in the EU specification; 16.47% in the single batch |
| Linalool | A monoterpene alcohol | Floral, similar to bergamot and lavender | Major in linalool-type trees; 0.07% in the single white batch |
| Safrole | A phenylpropene | "Sassafras odor" | The reason the heavy cuts are separated off |
Two points from that table deserve emphasis. First, linalool is the compound that makes a "ho wood" oil from the same species, and it is close to absent in the white fraction, so the species name does not tell you which compounds are present. Second, the odour column is why a bottle of white camphor oil can smell closer to eucalyptus, pine and citrus than to a mothball. We explain that gap in the scent guide.
Safrole: the compound that sorts the cuts
Safrole is the number to ask about. The International Agency for Research on Cancer placed it in Group 2B, possibly carcinogenic to humans, in 1987. The basis was liver tumours in mice and rats given safrole by mouth, plus liver and lung tumours in infant mice after injection, with no human studies available. The Tisserand Institute says the yellow and brown cuts are high in safrole and are not usually sold on the open market, and that ho wood oil is rectified to reduce it.
The EU opinion on white camphor oil, by contrast, specified safrole below 0.0002% and reported it as not detected in six batches. Notice the method limit, 0.001%, which is higher than the specification. The same document cites a more sensitive method at 0.0001% for older data. The lesson is mechanical: a safrole result is only as meaningful as the detection limit printed beside it. Our grade comparison shows how to apply that when you shop.
A note on how these percentages are produced
The percentages above are GC area percentages. They show the share of the signal from each peak in a gas chromatography run, and the EU opinion labels its figures exactly that way. Area percent is a useful comparison and it is not the same as weight percent. Detector response differs between compounds, and a handful of unidentified peaks can sit in the remainder. In the EU data, 19 of up to 58 peaks were identified and accounted for about 99.5% of the area. Treat any single figure as a snapshot of one lot on one instrument, and prefer ranges across batches over any single number. Our guide on reading a GC/MS report goes through the checks.
What we can and cannot tell you about our own oil
We sell one product, Camphor Essential Oil, described on our pages as the white fraction of the wood distillate, 100% pure and undiluted. We do not publish a GC/MS report on this site, so we cannot give you a constituent table for our oil and we will not borrow another seller's. The producer's profile and a safrole result "at or below detection" are asked for on every lot and given when you ask.
What we can show is the posted certificate of analysis for batch CMPQGACCCNC003A: clear liquid, specific gravity 0.878 against a standard of 0.870 to 0.890, refractive index 1.467 against 1.455 to 1.475, optical rotation +5.80 degrees against +2 to +20, steam distilled, CAS 8008-51-3. The refractive index happens to fall inside the 1.4640 to 1.4685 range the EU opinion uses for white camphor oil, which is consistent with a white cut. Consistent is not proof. These constants cannot reveal a safrole figure or a camphor percentage, and neither a certificate nor a number inside a range replaces a chromatogram. If composition matters to your formula, ask for the GC/MS and the detection limit before you buy.
Handling follows composition
The EU opinion treats the white oil as an irritant to skin and eyes and as a skin and respiratory sensitiser, so nobody should assume a milder profile means a gentle one. Camphor itself is hazardous if swallowed: a 2025 pediatric case report describes neurotoxicity above about 50 mg per kilogram of body weight. Keep every camphor product away from children, never ingest it, and call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 if anyone does. Ask a pharmacist or physician about pregnancy, seizure history or medicines before use. Our oil is sold as an aromatic and cosmetic material, not a drug.
Common questions about the numbers
Is camphor the main compound in camphor oil?
Not in the white fraction. In the published analyses we found, camphor ranges from below 0.1% to about 10% of white camphor oil, with 1,8-cineole usually leading. Camphor dominates in camphor-type leaf oil and in the crystal, which is a different material.
Why do two white camphor oils show different percentages?
Because "white" names a cut, and the cut point, the feedstock chemotype and the analytical method all move the numbers. Comparing the EU specification with one commercial batch shows alpha-pinene at 4 to 10% in one and 16.47% in the other.
Does a certificate of analysis show composition?
Only if it includes a chromatogram or a constituent table. A certificate that lists appearance, density, refractive index and rotation describes physical identity, not composition.
Camphor Essential Oil
Camphor Essential Oil from our own shop, in sizes from 0.5 oz to bulk.
From $8.69
Shop Now →Sources & Further Reading
- Chemical variation and environmental influence on essential oil of Cinnamomum camphora, Molecules 2023;28(3):973
- Phytochemistry and applications of Cinnamomum camphora essential oils, Molecules 2022;27(9):2695
- Transcriptome analysis of terpenoid biosynthesis in Cinnamomum camphora, BMC Genomics 2018;19:550
- EFSA FEEDAP Panel, camphor white oil, EFSA Journal 2022;20(1):e06985
- GC-MS report, commercial white camphor oil (Essential Oil University, 2021)
- Tisserand Institute, Cinnamomum camphora names and chemotypes
- PubChem, camphor and safrole records
- IARC Monographs vol. 10, safrole
- Camphor toxicity case report, BMC Pediatrics 2025;25:121
- America's Poison Centers, Poison Help line