Chemical Composition of the Essential Oils ofCupressus atlanticaGaussen

Abstract The chemical composition of essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation of the wood, leaves and cones of Cupressus atlantica Gaussen (Cupressaceae) was studied by GC and GC/MS. Oxygenated sesquiterpenes constituted the main chemical groups in the oil from wood, with cedrol (45.1%) as the major component. The oil from leaves contained higher amounts of sesquiterpenes with germacrene D (13.1%) and α-muurolol (15.9%) as the major components, while the monoterpene hydrocarbon α-pinene (58.7%) was found to predominate in the oil from cones. Key Word Index: Cupressus atlantica Cupressaceaeessential oil compositionα-pinenecedrolα-muurololmethyl thymol13-epi-manoyl oxidegermacrene D