Search

Ocimum is an aromatic plant species with immense medicinal properties. It contains several bioactive compounds that are used in the preparation of synthetic drugs. The study is aimed to compare the volatile components of in-vitro raised plants with the donor mother plant. The in-vitro regenerated plants showed 52 volatile compounds, whereas the mother plant showed 41 compounds only. It was observed that in-vitro regenerants consisted of a higher percentage of volatiles (38.92%) as compared to the mother plant (28.8%). Many similar constituents were identified from both the mother plant and in-vitro raised plants such as linalool, camphor, and δ-terpineol. However, some constituents were obtained from in-vitro raised plants only such as α-cubebene, β-chamigrene, trans-calamenene, cubebol, spathulenol, isogermacrene D, cedrol, isocitronellol, cheloviolene D, cis-β-terpeniol, thujol, γ-amorphene, γ-gurjunene, and γ-elemene. Two diterpenes (neocembrene and cheloviolene D) were also present in the in-vitro raised plants. The current study provides an alternative approach for quick synthesis of bioactive products of medicinal and other commercial use.

The importance of chamomile (Chamomilla recutita)inflorescence is widely known in classical and folk medicine, with the largest group of its effective constituents forming the essential oil (chamazulene, a-bisabolol, α-farnesene, trans-β-farnesene, spathulenol, cis/trans-en-in-dicycloethers). Among cultivated species, the Hungarian BK-2 contains more chamazulene in its essential oil than the German Degumil type, which is mainly cultivated for its a-bisabolol. Both components have important antiinflammatory activities. Wild populations can be easily distinguished from cultivated ones by their high amount of bisaboloides, particularly the flower of Hungarian Szabadkígyós wild type, which contained on average 48 % of the biologically active (-)-a-bisabolol. The population of Szabadkígyós has good salt tolerance which is important owing to global warming, because the proportion of saline areas is increasing worldwide. To keep the genome of Szabadkígyós having high (-)-a-bisabolol content, Szőke and research team used biotechnological methods. Sterile plantlets, were infected byAgrobacterium rhizogenesstrains #A-4, #15834, #R-1601. The hairy root clones possessing the best growing and biosynthetical potential were multiplied for phytochemical investigations. Pharmacologically important compounds of their essential oils were followed in great detail. The amount ofin vitrocultured terpenoids and polyin compounds was compared with that ofin vivoplants. GC-MS studies showed that sterile chamomile cultures generated the most important terpenoid and polyin compounds characteristics of the mother plant. Berkheyaradulene, geranyl-isovalerat and cedrol as new components were identified in these sterile cultures. The main component of hairy root cultures (D/400, D/1, D/100 and Sz/400) was tr-b-farnesene and in addition one new compound: a-selinene was identified. Hairy root culture originated from chamomile collected in Szabadkígyós was intensive increased the essential oil content and pharmacological active compounds: (-) -α-bisabolol and β-eudesmol was also synthetized in large quantity. Furthermore,in vitroorganized cultures were made from this population to obtain propagation material containing numerous active substances.

In spite of the evidence for antimicrobial and acaricidal effects in ethnobotanical reports of Callitris and Widdringtonia, the diterpene acids from Widdringtonia have never been described and no comparison to the Australian clade sister genus Callitris has been made. The critically endangered South African Clanwilliam cedar, Widdringtonia wallichii (syn. W. cedarbergensis), of the Cederberg Mountains was once prized for its enduring fragrant timbers and an essential oil that gives an aroma comparable to better known Mediterranean cedars, predominantly comprised by widdrol, cedrol, and thujopsene. In South Africa, two other &lsquo, cedars&rsquo, are known, which are called W. nodiflora and W. schwarzii, but, until now, their chemical similarity to W. wallichii has not been investigated. Much like Widdringtonia, Callitris was once prized for its termite resistant timbers and an &lsquo, earthy&rsquo, essential oil, but predominantly guaiol. The current study demonstrates that the essential oils were similar across all three species of Widdringtonia and two known non-volatile diterpene acids were identified in leaves: the pimaradiene sandaracopimaric acid (1) and the labdane Z-communic acid (2) with a lower yield of the E-isomer (3). Additionally, in the leaves of the three species, the structures of five new antimicrobial labdanes were assigned: 12-hydroxy-8R,17-epoxy-isocommunic acid (4), 8S-formyl-isocommunic acid (5), 8R,17-epoxy-isocommunic acid (6), 8R-17R-epoxy-E-communic acid (7), and 8R-17-epoxy-E-communic acid (8). Australian Callitris columellaris (syn. C. glaucophylla) also produced 1 and its isomer isopimaric acid, pisiferal (9), and pisiferic acid (10) from its leaves. Callitris endlicheri (Parl.) F.M.Bailey yielded isoozic acid (11) as the only major diterpene. Diterpenes 4&ndash, 6, pisiferic acid (10), spathulenol, and guaiol (12) demonstrated antimicrobial and acaricidal activity.

Mahonia is an important genus of the Berberidaceae family. Most species of Mahonia plants are traditional herbal medicines with various active components, and Mahonia is reported to be rich in alkaloids and essential oils. This study aimed to investigate the content of alkaloids and the chemical composition of the essential oils in five Mahonia species. Roots and stems of five Mahonia species showed higher jatrorrhizine, palmatine and berberine. The sum contents of the palmatine and berberine were all far more over 0.8% both in roots and stems of five Mahonia species. The leaves had higher oil yields than the stems of all species. Ethyl linoleate, phytol isomer, 4-terpineol and α-terpineol were the predominant component in both the stem and leaf oils of the five Mahonia species. Cedrol (2.09–4.33%) was abundant compound in the essential oil of five Mahonia species stems. The phytol content in the leaf oil was markedly higher than that measured in the stems. The essential oil composition from these Mahonia species demonstrated strong tissue and organ specificity. The roots and stems could be considered a good source of alkaloids, and the leaves could be considered a good source of essential oils of five Mahonia species. This work benefits the extensive development of this important and widely used medicinal herb.

This research aimed to investigate the seasonal variations and antibacterial activities of essential oils (EOs) and their major components from bamboo leaves. The Phyllostachys heterocycla cv. Pubescens leaves have undergone steam distillation to prepare EOs; leaves collected in autumn had the highest amount of EOs (0.33%). Chemical characterization by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) allowed the identification of 36 compounds. The major compounds (%) were ketones (52.25), alcohols (17.79), carboxylic acids (9.41) and alkane hydrocarbons (7.68), which included 6, 5, 7 and 9 distinct compounds, respectively. Antibacterial activities were registered against Gram-negative bacteria [Escherichia coli (minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] = 2.25 mg/mL)], Gram-positive bacteria [Bacillus subtilis (MIC = 2.25 mg/mL)] and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The antibacterial effect of the three major monomeric compounds (tricosane, cedrol and hexadecanoic acid) in bamboo leaf EOs and their mixtures was studied. We showed for the first time that tricosane had antimicrobial activity. We found that cedrol had the strongest antibacterial effect, followed by hexadecanoic acid. Cedrol at 5 mg/mL had the largest inhibition zones of up to 14.93 mm against Flavobacterium SHL45. The antimicrobial effect of the equal mixture ratio of the three monomers was higher than that when tricosane and hexadecanoic acid were tested alone, and was also higher than that of the combination of any two of them.

In the present work, the hydrodistillation (HD) and microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MAHD) kinetics of essential oil extracted from Tetraclinis articulata (Vahl) Masters wood was conducted, in order to assess the impact of extraction time and technique on chemical composition and biological activities. GC and GC–MS analyses showed significant differences between the extracted essential oils, where each family class or component presents a specific kinetic according to extraction time, technique and especially for the major components: camphene, linalool, cedrol, carvacrol and α-acorenol. Furthermore, our findings showed a high variability for both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, where each activity has a specific effect according to extraction time and technique. The highlighted variability reflects the high impact of extraction time and technique on chemical composition and biological activities, which led to conclude that we should select essential oils to be investigated carefully depending on extraction time and technique, in order to isolate the bioactive components or to have the best quality of essential oil in terms of biological activities and preventive effects in food. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Essential oils are scented liquids extracted from certain plants. While some are extracted from flowers and leaves, others come from the seeds, stalks and bark. These concentrated oils contain actual elements of the plant that are referred to as the plant's “essence.” Because particles of a specific plant are contained in the essence, each type of oil has distinctive chemical properties and characteristics. Essential oils are made up of three elements almost exclusively carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. In Thuja the most prominent constituents of the oil are thujone-isothujone, fenchone and camphor. The main components of all essential oils of leaves were determined as α-pinene, δ-3-carene, sabinene and cedrol. These plants contain plant phytoconstituents such as carbohydrates, alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, tannins, saponins and flavonoidic constituents are Rutin, Quercitrin, Quercetin, Amentoflavone. Active compounds produced during secondary vegetal metabolism are usually responsible for the bio...

The present study reports the variation of the essential oils composition from wood and leaves of Tetraclinis articulata (Vahl) Masters, collected from four locations in Algeria as well as compares their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. 34 compounds were identified, accounting for 90.6–97.6% of the leaves oils. The predominant compounds were α-pinene (16.3–25.3%), camphor (17.2–21.4%) and bornyl acetate (17.6–20.6%). 29 compounds were identified, accounting for 91.2–95.5% of the total wood oil. Camphene (15.5–18.8%), cedrol (10.5–12.7%) and α-acorenol (8.2–10.4%) were the main compounds. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed chemical variability in the studied essential oils. Although the main components are common, their percentages are different. The investigated essential oils showed substantial antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Although the two assays yielded quantitatively different values, the best antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities was observed for oil from Zeddine region flowed by that from Mansoura region, while, the lowest activities was observed for oil from Tazoult region. In this work, we revealed significant differences in the yields and chemical composition. Furthermore, our study demonstrates a high variation in the biological activity potentials according to parts of species and populations. This variability points out the importance of the geographic origin of the populations and the growing conditions which could affect significantly the oil compounds both in quantitative or qualitative extent and by there the biological activities. It offers also the opportunity to choose essential oils with preferential compound for pharmaceutical, perfume and food industries.

Essential oils isolated from leaves, barriers and from their mixture of Juniper (Juniperus excelsa M.Bieb) growing in Ziarat district. Essential oils were obtained by Clevenger-type apparatus, and components identified by gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). A total 27 components were identified which were inconsistent in their composition in the essential oils of J.excelsa, where five major variable components were: limonene (15.5-28.59%), followed by α-pinene (5.01-14.04%), cedrol (4.68-14.5%), δ-elemen (6.9-13.01%) and δ-cadinene (5.2-12.06%). Essential oils were evaluated for their in vitro antimicrobial activity against five bacterial species by disk diffusion method. J. excelsa essential oils showed antibacterial activity against tested organisms whilst the highest inhibition zone was observed for E. coli. Antileishmanial activity of essential oils isolated from juniper leaves, barriers and their mixture were also determined by using different concentration from (0.01ng/ml to 100 μg/ml). The IC50 value of all three essential oils were 0.0065 μg/ml, 0.0088 μg/ml and 0.0093 μg/ml respectively and demonstrated almost 100 times more antileishmanial activity in comparison to the standard Amphotericin B. Keywords: Juniperus excels; Antimicrobial activity; Antileishmanial activity; Essential oil composition http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2017.60083

Many mites rely on fungi for nutrients, and fungi benefit from them with regard to spore dispersal, or nutrient resources. The interactions among mites and fungi are still not clear in most cases. This study analyzed volatile natural products from the liquid and solid cultures of the edible fungi, Flammulina velutipes (Fr.) Sing, and the solid mycelia induced by the storage mite, Tyrophagus putrescentiae Schrank, using HS-SPME-GC–MS/MS. Five new monoterpenes and 30 new sesquiterpenes were isolated from the two cultures of F. velutipes and a newly monoterpene and 14 newly sesquiterpenes found in the solid mycelia induced by the storage mite. Sesquiterpenes were abundant in the mycelial stage of F. velutipe. The mite was attracted by some volatiles from host fungi, dihydrocarveol, cedrol, β-caryophyllene, α-terpilene, β-pinene and benzaldehyde, analyzed by four-arm olfactometer. Some terpenes induced by T. putrescentiae, such as caryophyllene oxide, bicyclogermacrene, and (−)-spathulenol, would have potential biological function. These results suggest that some volatile sesquiterpenes play an important role in enabling the mite to recognize host fungi.

Silicon (Si) is important in plant defenses that operate in a direct manner against herbivores, and work in rice (Oryza sativa) has established that this is mediated by the jasmonate signaling pathway. Plant defenses also operate indirectly, by the production of herbivore induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) that attract predators and parasitoids of herbivores. These indirect defenses too are mediated by the jasmonate pathway but no earlier work has demonstrated an effect of Si on HIPVs. In this study, we tested the effect of Si supplementation versus Si deprivation to rice plants on subsequent HIPV production following feeding by the important pest, rice leaffolder (Cnaphalocrocis medinalis). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses showed lower production of α-bergamotene, β-sesquiohellandrene, hexanal 2-ethyl, and cedrol from +Si herbivore-infested plants compared with -Si infested plants. These changes in plant chemistry were ecologically significant in altering the extent to which parasitoids were attracted to infested plants. Adult females of Trathala flavo-orbitalis and Microplitis mediator both exhibited greater attraction to the HIPV blend of +Si plants infested with their respective insect hosts compared to -Si infested plants. In equivalent studies using RNAi rice plants in which jasmonate perception was silenced there was no equivalent change to the HIPV blend associated with Si treatment; indicating that the effects of Si on HIPVs are modulated by the jasmonate pathway. Further, this work demonstrates that silicon alters the HIPV blend of herbivore-infested rice plants. The significance of this finding is that there are no earlier-published studies of this phenomenon in rice or any other plant species. Si treatment to crops offers scope for enhancing induced, indirect defenses and associated biological control of pests because parasitoids are more strongly attracted by the HIPVs produced by +Si plants.

The coniferous tree, Tetraclinis articulata (Vahl) Masters, commonly known as Barbary thuya is endemic to the western Mediterranean areas. Its woods, mainly root burl, were very appreciated by artisans for their natural beauty, homogeneity and good quality destined for marquetry and furniture. Use of essential oils (EOs) of this species opens a second way for valorization in many fields as bioactive agents. EOs were extracted, by hydrodistillation from sawdust and leaves samples originated from two thuya populations, and analyzed by GC-MS. Yields of EOs varied greatly depending on biomass type and samples origin. EOs of leaves are dominated by monoterpens, and contain α-pinene, camphor, and bornyl acetate as major compounds. Those of woods are however rich in sesquiterpens, and contain 3-tera-butyl-4-methoxyphenol, thymol, cedrol, and α-cedrene as major compounds. Antifungal bioassay, by direct contact in malt-agar medium, of these EOs conducted on four wood decaying fungi, showed that root burl wood EOs possess the best antifungal inhibitory power related to their richness in phenols (above 64%), followed by those of trunk wood; while leaves EOs showed, however a less antifungal activity. Such antifungal potency of wood thuya EOs allows us to recommend the use of these oils extracted from sawdust as preservative agents for less durable woods.

Pterocarpus santalinus (Linn. f.) is a small to medium sized deciduous tree, which belongs to the family Fabaceae. It is widely distributed in the tropical regions of the world. The plant has significant importance in traditional medicine for its ethnomedicinal value. The plant is mainly used to cure the skin ailments, oral diseases, cough, pyrexia, diarrhoea, dysentery, hyper nervous activity and also used as a potent anti-hemorrhagic, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-cancer and hepatoprotective agent. Phytochemical investigations have revealed that P. santalinus contains triterpenes, flavones, coumarins, tannins, phenolic acids, polysterols and essential oils. The active constituents of P. santalinus include alpha and beta santalol, Cedrol, pterocarpol, isopterocarpol, santalin A, B, pterocarpin, cryptomeridiol and santalin. The plant can be investigated for pharmacological activities as it has high medicinal value. The review discusses the antimicrobial, antioxidant, cytotoxicity and hepatoprotective activity of P. santalinus.

Along with the species evolution, plants have evolved ways to produce a different collection of terpenoids to accommodate its biotic and abiotic environment, and terpene synthase (TPS) is one of the major contributors to various terpene compounds. The timber of a monotypic and relictual conifer species of Cupressace, Taiwania cryptomerioides, has excellent durability, and one of the essential factors for Taiwania to resist decay and insect pests is sesquiterpene. Compared to other conifers, Taiwania has much higher abundance of cadinene-type sesquiterpenes, and the presence of cedrene-type sesquiterpenes. To understand sesquiterpene biosynthesis in Taiwania, we functionally characterized 10 T. cryptomerioides TPSs (TcTPSs) in vivo or in planta, which could catalyze sesquiterpene formation and potentially are involved in biosynthesis of diverse sesquiterpenoids in Taiwania. The distant phylogenetic relationship and the intron loss event of TcTPSs correlate to the differentiation of chemical profile Taiwania compared to other conifers. Furthermore, we identified TcTPS3 and TcTPS12 as δ-cadinene synthase, and TcTPS6 as cedrol synthase, which demonstrates the important contributions of dynamic evolution in TPSs to the chemical diversity in plants. Combining with functional characterization and comparison of catalytic residues, we conclude at least three catalytic routes for sesquiterpene biosynthesis in this species, and the skeleton diversity has been expended in T. cryptomeriodes.

The essential oils isolated from leaves, wood, and cones of the Tunisian endemic cypress Cupressus sempervirens L. var. numidica Trab. collected from three natural populations were characterized by GC-FID and GC/MS analyses. In the wood, leaf, and cone oils, 38, 35, and 26 constituents, representing 94.4, 97.8, and 98.5% of the total oil composition, respectively, were identified. Monoterpenes constituted the major fraction of the oils from all organs and for all populations. The oils were found to be of an α-pinene (64.2%)/δ-car-3-ene (11.1%) chemotype with considerable contents of α-humulene (3.4%) in the leaf oil, cedrol (2.8%) in the wood oil, and sabinene (3.2%) in the cone oil, respectively. α-Pinene, δ-car-3-ene, limonene, carvacrol methyl ether, α-humulene, and α-amorphene were the main components that differentiated the oils of the three organs in the cypress of Makthar.

Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are considered to be the main vector of a group of arboviruses responsible for dengue and yellow fever. Natural products derived from plant extracts were tested in a discovery program for effective, environment friendly mosquito control agents. Screening for mosquito larvicidal activity of plant extracts could lead to the discovery of new agents for mosquito larvae control. The mosquito larvicidal activities of the wood and leaf essential oils and ethanolic extracts from Cunninghamia konishii Hayata against A. aegypti and A. albopictus were investigated in this study. Results obtained from the mosquito larvicidal assay showed that wood and leaf essential oils possessed the activity against fourth instar larvae of A. aegypti and A. albopictus. Using gas chromatography–flame ionization detection (GC–FID) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analyses, twenty-seven and twenty-five compounds were identified, representing 100.0% and 98.1% of the wood and leaf essential oils. The main constituents of wood essential oil were cedrol (53.03%) and α-pinene (25.57%); of leaf essential oil were α-pinene (34.89%), p-cymene (16.66%) and γ-muurolene (11.35%). Among ten pure constituents tested, β-myrcene, p-cymene, (+)-limonene and sabinene exhibited significant larvicidal activity, with LC50 values of 35.8, 69.4, 71.9 and 74.1 μg/ml against A. aegypti larvae and 27.0, 68.3, 41.2 and 39.5 μg/ml against A. albopictus larvae, respectively. These results clearly revealed that the essential oils from C. konishii leaf and wood and their effective constituents served as a potential, eco-friendly mosquito larvicide against the dengue mosquitoes.

Heartwood samples from three species of Juniperus (i.e., J. virginiana, J. occidentalis, and J. ashei) were extracted with hexane, ethanol, and methanol. The hexane and ethanol extracts were tested for antifungal activity against four species of wood-rot fungi (i.e, Gloeophyllum trabeum, Postia placenta, Trametes versicolor, and Irpex lacteus). Ashe juniper (AJ) gave the highest extract yields (6.60 to 11.27%), followed by Eastern red cedar (ERC) (4.78 to 9.56%), and then Western juniper (WJ) (4.26 to 7.32%). WJ contained the highest level of cedrol (over 60%), while AJ contained the highest level of thujopsene (over 30%). Methanol and ethanol gave the highest extract yields as well as slightly higher percentages of cedrol and widdrol. The juniper extracts were more effective against white-rot fungi than brown-rot fungi. The ethanol extracts had higher antifungal activity than the hexane extracts. The AJ extracts had the greatest bioactivity against the wood-rot fungi.

Background Cedrol, a sesquiterpene alcohol, is the first identified oviposition attractant for African malaria vectors. Finding the natural source of this compound might help to elucidate why Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles arabiensis prefer to lay eggs in habitats containing it. Previous studies suggest that cedrol may be a fungal metabolite and the essential oil of grass rhizomes have been described to contain a high amount of different sesquiterpenes. Results Rhizomes of the grass Cyperus rotundus were collected in a natural malaria mosquito breeding site. Two fungi were isolated from an aqueous infusion with these rhizomes. They were identified as Fusarium falciforme and a species in the Fusarium fujikuroi species complex. Volatile compounds were collected from the headspace above fungal cultures on Tenax traps which were analysed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GCMS). Cedrol and a cedrol isomer were detected in the headspace above the F. fujikuroi culture, while only cedrol was detected above the F. falciforme culture. Conclusion Cedrol an oviposition attractant for African malaria vectors is produced by two fungi species isolated from grass rhizomes collected from a natural mosquito breeding site.

Extracts from the wood of Juniperus excelsa ssp. polycarpos were analysed for their antioxidant activity using the DPPH method and compared with ascorbic acid and butylated hydroxytoluene. The most active extracts were analysed for their chemical composition using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Acetone extract was found to be moderately active as an antioxidant agent at 58.38%, which was lower than the value of vitamin C (98.56%) at the concentration of 14.20 mg/mL. The major components identified in the acetone extract as trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatives were pimaric acid TMS (24.56%), followed by α-d-glucopyranoside,1,3,4,6-tetrakis-O-(TMS)-β-d-fructofuranosyl 2,3,4,6-tetrakis-O-(TMS) (21.39%), triflouromethyl-bis-(TMS)methyl ketone (9.32%), and cedrol (0.72%). The dissolved water:methanol (1:1 v/v) partitioned from acetone extract afforded 12 fractions; among them, the F9 fraction was found to have good antioxidant activity (88.49%) at the concentration of 14.20 mg/mL. The major compounds identified in F9 fraction were α-d-glucopyranoside, 1,3,4,6-tetrakis-O-(TMS) (20.22%) and trifluoromethyl-bis-(TMS)methyl ketone (5.10%).

The aims of the present study were to isolate and identify the antifungal compounds from the ethanolic extract of Cunninghamia konishii wood and to evaluate their antifungal activities against wood decay fungi. The results showed that the n-Hex soluble fraction of the ethanolic extract from C. konishii wood had an excellent inhibitory effect against Lenzites betulina, Trametes versicolor, Laetiporus sulphureus, and Gloeophyllum trabeum, with IC(50) values of 33, 46, 62, and 49 μg/mL, respectively. By following the bioactivity-guided fractionation procedure, four sesquiterpenes, T-cadinol, cedrol, T-muurolol, and (-)-epi-cedrol, and three diterpenes, 13-epi-manool, cis-abienol, and isoabienol, were identified from the active subfractions. Among the main constituents of the ethanolic extract from C. konishii, T-cadinol, cedrol, and T-muurolol efficiently inhibited the growth of four wood-rot fungi at the concentration of 100 μg/mL, with antifungal indices of 51.4-100.0%, 68.3-100.0%, and 39.5-100.0%, respectively. Results of this study show that the ethanolic extract of C. konishii wood may be considered as a potent source of T-cadinol, cedrol, and T-muurolol as new natural antifungal agents.

In this study antifungal activities of essential oils from wood and leaf and their constituents of Cunninghamia konishii against four wood decay fungi and six plant pathogenic fungi were investigated. GC and GC-MS analyses show that the major compounds of wood essential oil were cedrol and α-pinene, while those of leaf essential oil were α-pinene and p-cymene. Antifungal tests demonstrated the wood oil from C. konishii used against Trametes versicolor, Lenzites betulina, Laetiporus sulphureus, and Gloeophyllum trabeum and leaf oil from C. konishii used against L. sulphureus had strong antifungal activities. Moreover, wood oil used against Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium solani, Pestalotiopsis funereal, and Ganoderma australe also had strong antifungal activities. Among the seven constituents of wood oil, cedrol displayed the best antifungal properties, indicating that it may be used as potential antifungal agents for the control of fungal diseases in plants.

Essential oils were isolated from the leaves of Platycladus orientalis growing in 16 areas of China. The essential oils were analyzed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In total, 98 volatile compounds were identified. Chemical variability in essential oil composition was evaluated using cluster analysis and principal component analysis. The two analyses led to the identification of four chemotypes: α-pinene, α-pinene/3-carene, cedrol, and cedrol/terpinyl acetate. Geographically, the populations growing in close proximity had similar essential oil composition. The chemical variability could possibly be attributed to genetic and environmental factors.

The essential oils of the leaves and fruits of Juniperus polycarpos var. polycarpos were obtained by steam distillation. Chemical constituents of the obtained oils were analyzed by GC, GC/MS, GC/FTIR and 13C-NMR. The major components of the leaf oil of Juniperus polycarpos var. polycarpos were α-pinene (32.3%), cedrol (13.1%), β-elemene (3.7%), myrcene (3%), β-bisabolene (2.9%) and limonene (2.8%); whereas, the fruit oil contained α-pinene (47.6%), cedrol (12.0%), myrcene (5.1%), germacrene B (3.2%) and β-pinene (2.7%).

The essential oils obtained separately from both the untreated and treated wood (wood veneer) of Tetraclinis articulate (Dahl) Masters gathered from the area of Essaouira (Morocco)have been analyzed using GC and GC-MS. Remarkable qualitative and quantitative differences were found between the constituents in the samples studied. In the treated wood, the main componentswere carvacrol (41.2 % vs. 30.5% for untreated wood), O-methylthymodroquinone (10.8 % vs. 16.5 % for untreated wood) and cedrol (2.5 % vs. 12.1 % for untreated wood). The present study shows that the wood veneers are source of essential oil and can be used in both medicinal and cosmetic purposes.

The compositions of the essential oils of young stem, leaf and fruit of Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Fifty-two volatile components in the fruit oil, 23 components in the leaf oil and 21 components in the young stem oil were identified. The main constituents of the young stem oil were δ-3-carene (24.3%), α-pinene (15.4%), cedrol (17.7%), sabinene (8.2%), α-humulene (6.1%), cis-thujopsene (5.5%), terpinolene (4.5%) and β-phellandrene (3.1%), while the major components of the leaf oil were α-pinene (30.0%), δ-3-carene (21.7%), β-caryophyllene (6.9%), cedrol (6.1%), α-terpinene (5.2%), α-humulene (4.6%) and β-phellandrene (4.5%). The main constituents of the fruit oil were α-pinene (38.7%), δ-3-carene (20.4%), α-fenchene (5.0%), terpinolene (4.7%), α-terpinene (4.0%), β-pinene (3.6%) and o-cymene (3.6%). The monoterpene hydrocarbons represented the most abundant constituents of the analyzed oils. Meanwhile, α-pinene and δ-3-carene constituted the most important vo...

The volatile flavor constituents of Cassia mimosoides var. noname (M.) essential oil were investigated by capillary GC and GC-MS. Compositional changes of the essential oil were analyzed after storage for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 12 and 15 weeks at 4 and 25°C. One hundred volatile flavor components were identified in the essential oil. n-Butylidene dihydrophthalide were the most abundant component. The contents of camphene, limonene, α-cedrene, longifolene, β-caryophyllene, γ-elemene and α-humullene increased in the initial stage of storage. A remarkable increase in the pentanal content was noticed in the essential oil stored at 25°C. A pronounced increase in the concentration of cineol, terpinen-4-ol, nerol, dehydrocarveol and thymol, and decrease in β-elemol, cedrol and β-eudesmol were observed during storage. Phthalides were predominant in Cassia mimosoides var. noname (M.) essential oil, and its content was nearly constant during storage at 4°C, however, it increased after first week of storage a...

A bioassay-guided fractionation of Juniperus procera berries yielded antiparasitic, nematicidal and antifouling constituents, including a wide range of known abietane, pimarane and labdane diterpenes. Among these, abieta-7,13-diene (1) demonstrated in vitro antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum D6 and W2 strains (IC(50) = 1.9 and 2.0 microg/mL, respectively), while totarol (6), ferruginol (7) and 7beta-hydroxyabieta-8,13-diene-11,12-dione (8) inhibited Leishmania donovani promastigotes with IC(50) values of 3.5-4.6 microg/mL. In addition, totarol demonstrated nematicidal and antifouling activities against Caenorhabditis elegans and Artemia salina at a concentration of 80 microg/mL and 1 microg/mL, respectively. The resinous exudate of J. virginiana afforded known antibacterial E-communic acid (4) and 4-epi-abietic acid (5), while the volatile oil from its trunk wood revealed large quantities of cedrol (9). Using GC/MS, the two known abietanes totarol (6) and ferruginol (7) were identified from the berries of J. procera, J. excelsa and J. phoenicea.

Cupressus funebris is generally regarded as the botanical source of Chinese cedarwood oil. However, due the limited amount of mature forest trees of C. funebris in China, other species in the Cupressaceae that have wood oils high in α-cedrene, β-cedrene, thujopsene and cedrol might be utilized for cedarwood oil production. Wood samples of putative C. funebris were extracted and the extracts were analyzed and compared with several lots of Chinese cedarwood oil. Wood oils were also extracted from Juniperus chinensis and J. c. cv. torrulosa and analyzed. Considerable variation was found among the wood oils of putative C. funebris. The various lots of commercial Chinese cedarwood oils were very variable: α-cedrene (3.6–44.2%), β-cedrene (3.5–11.5%), cis-thujopsene (1.9–37.4%), cedrol (1.7–23.4%). The presence of β-biotol and β-biotone in several Chinese cedarwood oils seems to indicate that wood of Platycladus orientalis (Biota orientalis) was utilized in their production. It appears that Chinese ced...

The composition of the volatile fraction from the aerial parts of Evax pygmaea was analysed by GC-FID and GC-MS. Fifty eight compounds have been identified. Sesquiterpenesespecially oxygenated sesquiterpenes were shown to be the main group of constituents. Diterpenesconstitute the second group components, whereas the contribution of monoterpens is very low.Among the former group of constituents, α -calacorene (12.2 %), elemol (8.8 %), α -cadinol (7.4 %),cedrol (5.6 %) and T-muurolol (4.9 %) are the most important sesquiterpenes, whereas kaurene(7.0 %), abiediene (5.8 %) and epi -13-manoyl oxide (5.3 %) are the major diterpene components of thelatter group. Keywords: Evax pygmaea , Asteraceae, volatile fraction, α-calacorene, elemol,kaurene, GC, GC-MS Introduction: This report is a continuation of our research on the chemical consti-tuents of some Asteraceae species 1,2 in order to identify the most promising plants fromTunisian flora and to demonstrate the commercial potential for the agriculture, food andflavours, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries and medicine of natural extracts.The genus Evax belongs to Inuleae tribe and Gnaphaliinae subtribe. There are 8species of the genus

Fourteen samples of root from Vetiveria nigitana (Benth.) Stapf were collected from five localities of Benin. The oils obtained were analyzed by GC and GC-MS. The oil composition showed sixty constituents. The major components of them were ledene oxide (52.1 %), zizanoic acid (49.8 %), hexadecanoic acid (43.5 %), prezizanoic acid (29.1 %), cedrol (43.6 %), khusinol (23.0 %), cedr-8-en-15-ol (21.5 %), khusimol (14.8 %), khusian-2-ol (14.0 %), phytol (13.4 %) and α-cedrene (16.1 %).

Eastern redcedar is widespread in the US and produces significant amount of biomass. Open-grown trees invade abandoned fields and compete with valuable forage species in pastures and rangelands. Value-added product development from redcedar is vital for management of eastern redcedar. Cedarwood oil is a valuable component which can be used for further value-added product development. This study examined the effect of age on the distribution of oil in redcedar tree segments. Trunks of eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana L.) trees at different stages of growth (26-63 years old) were divided into three sections (top, center and lower). Each section was fractionated separately into bark, heartwood and sapwood segments. Heartwood and sapwood samples from each tree section were analyzed for oil content and composition. A hydrodistillation method was used for oil extraction. Volatile components of tree segments were examined by using a Gas Chromatograph-headspace analysis technique. The heartwood of eastern redcedar contained significantly higher oil than sapwood. Older trees had more oil in the heartwood than younger trees. Both redcedar bark and leaves contained significantly lower oil content than the cedarwood. There were also significant differences in the oil composition of bark, leaves and wood fractions. Cedarwood oil extraction may benefit from prior separation of tree segments prior to oil extraction. However, the economic feasibility of separation prior to an extraction process needs to be further studied. Required extra capital investment and operating costs need to be examined, as well as whether sapwood is worth processing.

The composition of the essential oils obtained from the leaves and the flowers of Achillea ligustica (Asteraceae) growing in Sicily has been studied. The main constituents of the leaves were 4-terpineol (19.3%), carvone (8.9%), γ-terpinene (7.2%) and β-phellandrene (6.8%). 4-terpineol (12.0%), carvone (10.0%), and β-phellandrene (5.4%), along with linalool (20.4%) and cedrol (4.3%) were detected in the flower’s oil. Furthermore, the antimicrobial activity of the essential oils and of some of the main constituents were assayed on bacteria and fungi.

Cones/berries of Juniperus excelsa from three provenances in Balochistan, Pakistan were collected and essential oil was extracted by solvent method. Oil contents were analyzed on gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GCMS). Identification and quantification was made by using Wiley and NIST spectral library and HP Chemstation software. Quantitatively the mean cone oil yield was 5.8, 6.5 and 4.5% for Ziarat, Zarghoon Ghar and Harboi District Kalat, respectively. Ziarat being the richest in number of compounds while Harboi in compound diversity. Quantitative and qualitative similarities were found among three locations. Ziarat was found to be rich in α-pinene, cedrol, camphene, copaene, phyllocladene, ferruginol, podocarp-7-en-3-one, and pimara-8(14) 15-dien. Zarghoon Ghar was found to be rich in α-pinene, limonene, germacrene d, widdrol, phyllocladene, ferruginol, androst-4-ene-3,6-dione and Harboi was represented by α-pinene, β-myrcene, limonene, cedrene, clovene, cadinene, patchoulene, cedrol, spathulenol, abietatriene, norkaur, pimaric acid and neoabietic acid. In all, 99 compounds were reported for the first time from the oil of cones of J. excelsa in Balochistan. Keywords: Juniperus excelsa, essential oils, GCMS, Balochistan

The allelopathic activity and chemical composition of the essential oil of Croton limae A. P. S. Gomes, M. F. Sales & P. E. Berry (marmeleiro-prateado) have been evaluated in this study. The essential oil was extracted by hydro-distillation. A completely randomized design was used to test the influence of the essential oil from fresh leaves of C. limae in concentrations of 0.10%, 0.25%, 0.50%, 0.75%, 1%, 1.25%, 2.50%, 3.75%, and 5% on the germination and growth of Lycopersicum esculentum Mill. (tomato) seeds by indirect contact, with a control using water and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Each treatment consisted of five replicates using twenty seeds in each one. The chemical analysis of the essential oil was carried out using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The analysis showed the occurrence of 14 chemical compounds, the majority of which were cedrol (28.4%), eucalyptol (17.4%) and a-pinene (13.8). The C. limae essential oil inhibited germination of the tomato seeds at concentrations of 2.50% and upwards and it affected the caulicles and radicles of tomatoes at all concentrations tested. The tests proved that C. limae presents phytotoxic activities.

The chemical composition of hydrodistilled essential oils obtained from aerial parts and roots of selected Caryopteris (‘bluebeard’) species (C. incana, C. mongolica, Caryopteris × clandonensis), as well as the newly established in vitro shoot and adventitious root cultures of the above plants, was analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Essential oil content and composition differed significantly depending on the type of plant material analyzed. Adventitious roots were characterized by the highest essential oil yield, reaching 1.8 % V/DW in Caryopteris × clandonensis. Limonene and cedrol were the main components of the essential oil derived from aerial parts of the intact plants (11.9–16.0 and 10.7–10.9 %, respectively), whereas the volatile fractions of the in vivo roots of all species contained large amounts of 3,5-bis(1,1-dimethyl)-phenol (12.9–26.2 %). 1,8-cineole, absent in the intact plant materials, was the dominating volatile constituent of the essential oils obtained from in vitro shoots (24.8–34.2 %). The volatile oil derived from adventitious root cultures consisted primarily of 1-octen-3-ol (19.7–31.5 %) and medicinally relevant diterpenoids: abietatriene and trans-totarol, which were accumulated in considerable quantities, especially in the adventitious roots of C. clandonensis (21.6 and 29.2 %, respectively).

Farjon (1) considers the genus Calocedrus as containing just three species, C. decurrens (w. N. America), C. macrolepis (S.W. China, N. Vietnam, N. Thailand) and C. formosana (Taiwan). The leaf oils were analyzed and compared to the oil of the closely related species, Platycladus orientalis (E., N.E. China, Korea, far eastern Russia). The oils of C. macrolepis and C. formosana were very similar, being high in alpha-pinene (57.2% and 67.1%, respectively) and myrcene (11.2% and 6.2%), but they differed in several smaller components. The oils of C. decurrens from two populations in Oregon and one disjunct population in southern California were high in delta-3-carene (15.2-20.2%), limonene (18.2-23.6%), alpha-pinene (8.7-15.8%), terpinolene (5.7-8.0%), alpha-fenchyl acetate (3.5-9.7%), with some cedrol (0.8-1.2%). No large differences in oil compositions were seen between the three C. decurrens populations. Platycladus orientalis (= Thuja orientalis, = Biota orientalis) was found to contain considerable amounts of delta-3-carene (29.8%), cedrol (22.2%), alpha-pinene (15.1%) and terpinolene (4.9%). Overall, the oil of C. decurrens is as different from C. macrolepis and C. formosana as it is from P. orientalis, suggesting considerable divergence between Calocedrus species, but not between C. macrolepis and C. formosana. These leaf oil analyses support the recognition of C. macrolepis var. formosana in Taiwan as treated in the Flora of China.

The composition of the leaf oils from seven populations of J. sabina L., one population of Juniperus sabina var. arenaria (E. H. Wilson) Farjon were examined for their geographic variation. In addition, the leaf oils of J. chinensis L. and J. davurica Pall. were compared to J. sabina. Juniperus sabina var. arenarla, the sand loving juniper, oil was found to be very similar to that of J. davurica, Mongolia, and J. sabina, on sand dunes in Mongolia. This suggests that J. sabina var. arenaria might be conspecific with J. davurica. Farjon's move (2001) of J. sabina var. arenaria out of J. chinensis is supported. Considerable differentiation was found in populations of J. sabina from the Iberian peninsula. Cedrol, citronellol, safrole, trans-sabinyl acetate, terpinen-4-ol and beta-thujone were found to be polymorphic in several populations.

The essential oils composition of the fresh and dried leaves of Croton huberi S., were studied. The oils which gave 0.05% and 0.1% (v/w) respectively, were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-MS. Thirty-four components out of thirty-seven detected compounds were identified in the oil obtained from fresh leaves. This oil was characterised by a high content of sesquiterpenes (62.5%), withy-eudesmol (18.7%) as the major constituent, followed by germacrene-D (11.7%), β-eudesmol (7.6%), caryophyllene-oxide (6.9%), kaurene (5.3%), humulene (4.3%), cedrol (4.6%) and isoelemicine (3.0%). In the oil obtained from the dried leaves, twenty-two components were characterised from a total of 29 compounds detected. This oil presented percentages of sesquiterpenes similar to those of the fresh material where γ-eudesmol (20.2%) was the main component, followed by ot-bisabolol (18.1%) and calacorene (9.2%).

The composition of the water-distilled essential oils of the berries and leaves of Juniperus excelsa. M. Bieb. were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The main components in the berries of J. excelsa., accounting for 56.1% of the oil, were determined as α-pinene (34.0%), cedrol (12.3%), L-verbenol (5.4%), and D-verbenol (4.4%) while in the leaves of J. excelsa., accounting for 63.2% of the oil, were found to be α-pinen (29.7%), cedrol (25.3%), α-muurolene (4.4%), and 3-carene (3.8%). Cytotoxic and antimicrobial potential of the berries and leaves of J. excelsa. were investigated.

The importance of chamomile (Chamomilla recutita) is widely known in classical and folk medicine, with the largest group of its effective substances forming the essential oil (chamazulene, alpha-bisabolol, trans-beta-farnesene, spathulenol, cis/trans-en-in-dicycloethers). The increasing need for plant-derived high quality drugs cannot be provided by their collection in the wilderness. METHOD A: To preserve the genome of Szabadkigyo. wild type having high (-)-alpha-bisabolol content, we used biotechnological methods.The roots of organized culture contained beta-eudesmol, which we have identified in the intact roots. Our gas-chromatographic and mass-spectroscopic studies showed that sterile chamomile cultures generated the most important terpenoid and polyin compounds characteristics of the intact plant. We identified berkheyaradulene, geranyl-isovalerate and cedrol, as new components in these cultures. Magnesium (Mg) (370 and 740 mg/l MgSO4) has a positive effect on the growth of organized cultures and also on the quality and quantity of essential oil production. METHOD B: Another possible source of variants is available by the genetic transformation of organized cultures by infection with Agrobacterium rhisogenes. With this method, we cultivated chamomile infected by A4-Y clone and investigated the essential oil production by hairy root cultures cultivated on solid and liquid MS B-5 media. The main component of the essential oil of hairy root cultures was trans-beta-farnesene.We identified alpha-selinene, as a new component in these hairy roots. We studied the growth rate of A4-Y clone on the cited media, containing MgSO4 concentrations: 0; 185; 370 and 740 mg/l. The cultures grew most in medium containing 740 mg/l of MgSO4. Essential oil content was compared from hairy root cultures of different Mg containing media and measured by GC and GC-MS methods. Mg has a similar effect on hairy roots as on organized cultures.

The industrial sawdust obtained from trunk and gnarl of Tetraclinis articulata Vahl were collected from two different locations of Morocco (Khemissat and Aoulouz). The essential oils were obtained by steam distillation. The oil yields varied greatly between the two regions (2.1–3.6 %) and were dependent on the parts of the wood treated. The essential oils have been analyzed using GC and GC/MS. No significant differences were found in the chemical composition of sawdust oils from the two locations. Eighteen compounds accounting for 94% of the whole oil, were identified. The major components of the sawdust oils were carvacrol (36.5–41.7 %), O-methylhydrothymoquinone (17.4–18.1%), α-cedrene (9.1–15.6%) and cedrol (5.7–6.5 %). The essential oils showed significant antioxidant activities, intermediate between those of BHT and carvacrol.

We studied the essential oil production of cultivated (BK-2, Degumil) and wild chamomile populations of 4 typical chamomile-rich regions of Hungary. We examined the essential oil composition of flowers, herbs (stem plus leaves) and roots using GC and GC/MS methods. Among cultivated species, the Hungarian BK-2 contains more chamazulene in its essential oil than the German Degumil type, which is mainly cultivated for its α-bisabolol. Both components have important antiinflammatory activities. Wild populations can be easily distinguished from cultivated ones by their high amount of bisaboloides, particularly the flower of Szabadkigyos wild type, which contained on average 48 % of the biologically active (-)-α-bisabolol. The regional wild chamomile samples mentioned above have already been examined previously in our Institute. We found it interesting to compare the content of biologically active components, at the same conditions, of presently promising populations with the results obtained 20 years ago from the same species. While the content of the essential oil of rural Szabadkigyos wild type remained unchanged, there was a trend of the essential oil components towards the therapeutically important compounds. The amount of (-)-α-bisabolol in Szabadkigyos mounted up to a 3-fold increase and we measured a doublefold increase of chamazulene content in BK-2 compared with samples 20 years ago. We can conclude that although a change was observed in the essential oil content and also in the proportion of different components, the fundamental characteristics of the oils remained the same. To keep the genom of Szabadkigyos wild type having high (-)-α-bisabolol content, we used biotechnological methods. The sterile roots of organised culture contained also β-eudesmol, wich was firstly identified from the intact roots by us. Our gas chromatographical and mass-spectroscopical studies showed that sterile chamomile cultures generated the most important terpenoid and polyin compounds characteristic of the mother plant. We identified berkheyaradulene, α-selinene, geranyl-isovalerate and cedrol as new components in these sterile cultures. INTRODUCTION In Hungary, chamomile, (Chamomilla recutita, syn.:Matricaria recutita [L.] Rauschert; Asteraceae) is one of the most common medicinal plants. Its importance is widely known in both official and folk medicines. Chamomile owes its therapeutical activity to different groups of effective substances, which make up the complex effect of the drug (Chamomillae anthodium). Essential oils are of greatest importance among all effective substances. The essential oil content of plant parts under and above ground depends on different chemotypes (Hansel et al., 1992). According to the bisabololoxide content, commercial chamomile populations are classified as types of bisabolol, bisabololoxide A and B, and bisabolonoxide (Schilcher, 1973, 1987). During the ontogenesis the essential oil content changes, reaching a maximum in the flower just before flowering (0.3-1.5%), Proc. Int. Conf. on MAP Eds. J. Bernath et al. Acta Hort. 597, ISHS 2003

The response of the essential oils and their components toCryptomeria bark borer has been studied. The oils of inner bark and sapwood of resistant cultivars acted as a repellent toCryptomeria bark borer rather than as an attractant, whereas those of susceptible cultivars acted as an attractant.α-Terpineol, nerolidol,δ-cadinene,β-eudesmol, terpinolene, and cedrol showed high repellent activity. The relative contents of the former four compounds were larger in resistant cultivars than in sensitive cultivars. It suggests that these four compounds might be one of the causes of resistance toCryptomeria bark borer. The contents of terpinolene and cedrol were small, and these two compounds may have no or a small influence on resistance. Although some of compounds acted as attractants forCryptomeria bark borer, it was not attributable to the difference in the bark borer response of Japanese cedar because of the relatively low ratio of these compounds in each essential oil and the small differences in the ratios between resistant and susceptible cultivars.

Water-distilled oils from the leaf, cone berry, seedless cone berry, seed, and branch of Juniperus foetidissima were analyzed by GC/MS. The main components of the leaf oil were found as β-thujone and cedrol. Sabinene was the major component in the essential oil of cone berries. Sabinene, β-thujone, and abietal were the main components of the seed and seedless cone berry oils. In the branch oil α-pinene was the major component.

Heartwood samples from Juniperus virginiana L. were extracted with liquid carbon dioxide, and the bioactivity of carbon dioxide-derived cedarwood oil (CWO) toward several species of ants and cedrol toward ticks was determined. Repellency was tested for ants, and toxicity was tested for ticks. Ants in an outdoor bioassay were significantly repelled by the presence of CWO on a pole leading to a sugar-water solution. Similarly, CWO was a significant repellent barrier to red imported fire ants and prevented them from finding a typical food source. Black-legged tick nymphs exhibited dosage-dependent mortality when exposed to cedrol and at the highest dosage (i.e., 6.3 mg/ml) tested, the cedrol killed 100% of the ticks. These repellency and toxicity results together demonstrate a clear potential for the use of CWO as a pest control agent.

The antifungal activity of natural sesquiterpenoids patchoulol, ginsenol, cedrol and globulol against the fungus Botrytis cinerea has been determined. The diminishing of the effect after 3–6 days suggests that a mechanism of detoxification is present. Biotransformation of these fungistatic compounds has been investigated as a method of studying this mechanism.