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Abstract
Cupressus atlantica Gaussen is an endemic and threatened forest tree mainly located at the western High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. This study is a pleading for protection and restoration of this particular Mediterranean cypress species, through the characterization of chemical variability of its essential oils (EOs) and their recovery in different fields, especially as protective treatment against wood decaying fungi. Composite samples of leaves, twigs, and cones were collected within five populations. Sapwood and heartwood sawdust oils were also analyzed. EOs were extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-MS. C. atlantica oils are characterized by high chemical variability between types of biomass and populations. Thus, leaves and twigs oils are dominated by hydrocarbon monoterpenes; those of wood by oxygenated monoterpenes and oxygenated sesqueterpenes, and those of cones by hydrocarbon monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. Three chemical profiles have been identified in leaves oils within studied populations with α-pinene, δ-3-carene, limonene, and 13-epi-manoyl oxide as major compounds. Twigs oil is dominated by α-pinene, α-cedrene, cedrol, and trans-ferruginol. Cones oil contains α-pinene, β-myrcene, D-limonene, and β-pinene as major compounds. Heartwood oil is dominated by epi-cedrol, geraniol, borneol, and the α-cedrene; those of sapwood by epi-cedrol, geraniol, α-cedrene, β-cedrene, and insensol. EOs extracted from wood showed the strongest bioactivity against four strains of wood decay fungi with a global minimal inhibitory concentration (GMIC) of 900 ppm compared to those extracted from others parts of C. atlantica tree for witch GMIC ranged from 1750 to 1900 ppm.