Composition of the essential oil of Juniperus cedrus Webb & Berth. grown on Madeira

Abstract

The essential oils isolated from twigs of Juniperus cedrus Webb & Berth. grown on Madeira were analysed by GC, GC-MS and 13C-NMR. The oils consisted mainly of monoterpene hydrocarbons (53.1-87.8%), the main ones being alpha-pinene (19.6-55.3%), limonene (17.3-32.7%) and Delta-3-carene (5.5-15.7%). The sesquiterpenoid fraction (4.1-22.3%) was dominated by E-caryophyllene (1.6-7.4%), while sandaracopimaradiene (0.1-6.1%), isoabienol (0.5-1.3%) and trans-totarol (0.4-2.2%) were the main diterpenoids (2.2-11.9%). Oct-1-en-3-ol (1.0-2.2%) was the major constituent of the non-terpenic fraction (1.3-2.7%). The composition of our oil samples differed to some extent from that reported for J. cedrus oil grown on the Canary Islands. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.