Abstract
Juniper (
Juniperus oxycedrus) is used in European cuisine for its distinguishing flavour.
J. oxycedrus ssp.
oxycedrus berry and wood essential oils were tentatively identified by GC and GC/MS. Fifty compounds were identified in the berry oil and 23 compounds were identified in the wood oil. The
J. oxycedrus ssp.
oxycedrus berry oil was characterised by high contents of α-pinene (27.4%) and β-myrcene (18.9%). Other important compounds were α-phellandrene (7.1%), limonene (6.7%),
epi-bicyclosesquiphellandrene (2.3%) and δ-cadinene (2.2%) while, in the wood oil, δ-cadinene (14.5%) is a major main component, together with
cis-thujopsene (9.2%) and α-muurolene (4.9%).
In vitro evaluation of antioxidant activity by the DPPH method showed a significant activity for both oils with IC
50 values of 1.45
μl/ml for wood and 7.42
μl/ml for berries. Hypoglycaemic activity was investigated through the inhibition of α-amylase. The results revealed that oil obtained by hydrodistillation from
J. oxycedrus ssp.
oxycedrus wood exhibits an interesting activity with IC
50 of 3.49
μl/ml.