Analysis of Moroccan Atlas Cedarwood Oil (Cedrus atlantica Manetti).

The yield and the chemical composition of Atlas cedarwood oil produced by two distillation modes and seven sample origins were determined. Steam distillation and hydrodistillation gave approximately the same yield (2.5-2.6 mL/100g). The samples from Adrej, Tounfite, Tamjilt and Ajdir gave the highest oil yields. The major constituents in the essential oil were α-himachalene (7.4-16.4%), γ-himachalene (5.1-8.6%), β-himachalene (23.4-40.4%) and (E)-α-atlantone (5.2-29.5%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]