Essential Oil Content and Composition in Needles of Juniperus Virginiana.

Juniperus virginiana L. (Family Cupressaceae) known as Eastern Red Cedar is a widely distributed species in North America. J. virginiana’s heartwood is visually pleasing, fragrant, termite and insect resistant, and has numerous applications. In addition, a natural product (essential oil) is extracted from the heartwood. J. virginiana leaves (needles) also contain essential oil. While significant amount of research has been conducted on heartwood essential oil, limited information is available on the essential oil content and composition of J. virginiana needles. The needles are a by-product from the timber industry and apparently an understudied and underutilized raw material. The objective of this study was to evaluate the natural variation in essential oil content and composition of J. virginiana needles. J. virginiana trees at 46 sites in the US (in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and North Dakota) were sampled, the essential oil extracted and analyzed. Essential oil content in dried leaves (needles) of J. virginiana ranged from 0.017 to 0.421% on dry weight basis, with most samples having essential oil content between 0.1 and 0.2%. The major oil constituents (beta-pinene, myrcene, linalool, iso-safrole, limonene, safrole, and bornyl acetate) in all of the collected accession were quantified. Our results indicated wide variations in the concentration of individual constituents and suggest the presence of chemotypes. This is the first report on such a wide variation in essential oil content and composition of J. virginiana. 2