Differences in the Essential Oils of the Leaves (Needles), Unripe and Ripe Berries of Juniperus communis L. Growing Wild in Vilnius District (Lithuania)

Abstract

The twigs with unripe (green) and ripe (black) berries of J. communis L. were collected from five individual plants in five habitats. The essential oils obtained from fresh leaves, fresh unripe and ripe berries were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. α-Pinene dominated in all 15 oils (27.7–64.9%). The oils of unripe berries contained a larger amount of α-pinene than the oils of the leaves and ripe berries obtained from the same plant. Myrcene was found in eight berry oils and β-phellandrene in four leaf oils of four junipers and they were the second main compounds. The amount of myrcene was larger in the berry than in the leaf oils and it increased during ripening. The opposite correlation was found to occur for β-phellandrene. All oils of the fifth juniper contained α-cadinol as the second major constituent, which was the third in four unripe berry oils, in two ripe berry oils and in two leaf oils. Despite the quantitative differences (C₁₀ 55.2–85.1%; C₁₅ 12.7–42.4%) of the oils components the sum of mono- and sesquiterpenoids was similar (92.4–98.7%) in all samples. One hundred and 49 identified constituents comprised 94.9–99.2% of the oils.

Key Word Index:

• Juniperus communis
• Cupressaceae
• essential oil composition
• α-pinene
• myrcene
• β-phellandrene
• α-cadinol