Essential Oil Composition and Bioactivity of Two Juniper Species from Bulgaria and Slovakia
Valtcho D. Zheljazkov,
Charles L. Cantrell,
Ivanka Semerdjieva,
Tzenka Radoukova,
Albena Stoyanova,
Vasilina Maneva,
Miroslava Kačániová,
Tess Astatkie,
Daniela Borisova,
Ivayla Dincheva,
Ivan Salamon
Affiliations
Valtcho D. Zheljazkov
Crop and Soil Science Department, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
Charles L. Cantrell
Natural Products Utilization Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), University, MS 38677, USA
Ivanka Semerdjieva
Department of Botany and Agrometeorology, Agricultural University, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Tzenka Radoukova
Department of Botany and Methods of Biology Teaching, Faculty of Biology, University of Plovdiv Paisii Hilendarski, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Albena Stoyanova
Department of Tobacco, Sugar, Vegetable and Essential Oils, Technological Faculty, University of Food Technologies, 4002 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Vasilina Maneva
Plant Protection and Technology Department, Institute of Agriculture, Karnobat, Agricultural Academy, 8400 Karnobat, Bulgaria
Miroslava Kačániová
Department of Fruit Sciences, Viticulture and Enology, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak University of Agriculture, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
Tess Astatkie
Department of Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, Truro, NS B2N 5E3, Canada
Daniela Borisova
Administration of Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park, Executive Forest Agency, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, 3000 Vratsa, Bulgaria
Ivayla Dincheva
Plant Genetic Research Group, AgroBioInstitute, Agricultural Academy, 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria
Ivan Salamon
Department of Ecology, Faculty of Humanities and Natural Sciences, University of Presov, 080 01 Presov, Slovakia
Juniperus excelsa M. Bieb and J. sabina L. contain essential oil (EO), while J. sabina also contains podophyllotoxin, which is used as a precursor for anti-cancer drugs. Two studies were conducted. The first assessed the variability in the EO profile and podophyllotoxin concentration of the two junipers, depending on the location and tree gender. The main EO constituents of J. excelsa were α-cedrol, α-limonene and α-pinene, while the constituents in J. sabina were sabinene, terpinen-4-ol, myrtenyl acetate and α-cadinol. The podophyllotoxin yield of 18 J. sabina accessions was 0.07–0.32% (w/w), but this was not found in any of the J. excelsa accessions. The second study assessed the effect of hydrodistillation (Clevenger apparatus) and steam distillation (in a semi-commercial apparatus) on the EO profile and bioactivity. The extraction type did not significantly alter the EO composition. The EO profiles of the two junipers and their accessions were different and may be of interest to the industry utilizing juniper leaf EO. Breeding and selection programs could be developed with the two junipers (protected species) in order to identify chemotypes with (1) a high EO content and desirable composition, and (2) a high concentration of podophyllotoxin in J. sabina. Such chemotypes could be established as agricultural crops for the commercial production of podophyllotoxin and EO.
