Available via license: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Content may be subject to copyright.
Vol. 62 No. 3 2016
From Botanical to Medical Research
EXPERIMENTAL PAPER
DOI: 10.1515/hepo-2016-0014
Comparison of chemical composition of the essential oils from different
parts of Thuja occidentalis L. ‘Brabant’ and T. occidentalis L. ‘Smaragd’
ANNA LIS*, ROZALIA LISZKIEWICZ, AGNIESZKA KRAJEWSKA
Institute of General Food Chemistry
Lodz University of Technology
Stefanowskiego 4/10
90-924 Łódź, Poland
*corresponding author e-mail: anna.lis@p.lodz.pl
Summary
Thuja occidentalis ‘Brabant’ and T. occidentalis ‘Smaragd’ are widely planted as
decoration in parks and as hedges in domestic gardens in Poland. The aim of
the study was to determine the yield and the composition of essential oils from different
parts of these cultivars. The essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation,
and then analyzed by GC/MS. Over seventy compounds were identified. The oils
from leaves, twigs with leaves and twigs without leaves of ‘Brabant’ variety contained
mainly α-thujone (61.0–64.4%), β-thujone (10.4–10.7%) and fenchone (7.7–8.0%), whereas
in the cone oil there were α-thujone (42.1%), sabinene (11.2%) and β-thujone (10.2%). The
main constituents of the oil from leaves and twigs with leaves of ‘Smaragd’ variety were
α-thujone (49.2–49.3%), beyerene (12.8–13.2%) and sabinene (8.9–9.3%). The
yield and chemical composition of the essential oil of T. occidentalis depend on the variety
and plant organ. The oil of ‘Brabant’ variety contained more thujones and less diterpenes
in comparison with the oil of ‘Smaragd’ variety.
Thuja occidentalis ‘Brabant’, Thuja occidentalis ‘Smaragd’, essential oil composition,
α-thujone, β-thujone, beyerene
Thuja occidentalis L. (Cupressaceae), commonly known as white cedar or arbor-
vitae, is a coniferous tree with a compact narrowly pyramidal habit, flattened
Herba Pol 2016; 62(3): 20-27
Unauthenticated
Download Date | 10/12/16 4:32 PM
Vol. 62 No. 3 2016
21
Comparison of chemical composition of the essential oils from different parts of Thuja occidentalis L. ‘Brabant’...
twigs, evergreen leaves and small cones. The species is native to eastern North
America and there is used for timber [1, 2]. In Poland it is widely planted as a
decoration in parks and as hedges, screens or to create punctuation mark in
domestic gardens. Over 120 cultivar varieties of T. occidentalis exist, showing
great variation in shape, size and foliage color. The most popular in Poland are
T. occidentalis ‘Brabant’ and T. occidentalis ‘Smaragd’ (Emerald) [1-3]:
‘Brabant’ – 5–8 m height, 120 cm wide, loose columnar habit, fast-growing
(50 cm per year), good on the dense hedges but require forming;
‘Smaragd’ – 3 m height, 60 cm wide, tight pyramidal habit, very thin branches,
slower growing (10 cm per year), none-flowering, none-forming cones, good on
the dense hedges needing low maintenance (no formation).
T. occidentalis has been used in folk medicine for the treatment of various dis-
eases, such as headache, migraine, cold fever, bronchial catarrh, rheumatism,
psoriasis, enuresis, cystitis, amenorrhea, and as contraceptive and abortifacient
agent. Ethanolic extract of twigs possesses antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, an-
tioxidant, anticancer, antirheumatic, antispasmodic, antidiabetic, diuretic, expec-
torant, hepatoprotective, stimulant, tonic and vermifuge properties. Nowadays, it
is applied mainly in homeopathy as mother tincture or dilution. In combination
with other plants it is also used in phytotherapy as immunostimulating and antivi-
ral drug in acute and chronic infections of the upper respiratory tract [4-6].
Essential oil of T. occidentalis (cedar leaf oil) is commercially produced by hydro-
distillation or steam distillation from the foliage in Canada and USA. It is used in
pharmaceutical products because of its therapeutic properties, as well as in per-
fumes, cosmetics, soaps, deodorants, room sprays, detergents, cleansers, disin-
fectants and insecticides. Due to presence of toxic thujone, which can evoke dizzi-
ness and convulsions, dose of the oil must be strictly controlled. Pure thujone is
used as active ingredient in the production of nasal decongestants of cough sup-
pressants; because of anticancer activity it may be applied in chemotherapies [7].
Several papers described T. occidentalis essential oil, its chemical composition
[8-13] and additional biological activities: antimicrobial [14-17] and insecticidal
[18-22]. The following factors influence the yield and chemical composition of the
oil: origin of the plants [8-12, 14, 18, 19], cultivar variety [13, 15], harvest season
[9, 13], technique of oil isolation [8, 9] and time of hydrodistillation [10].
In the present work, the composition of the essential oils from different parts
of T. occidentalis ‘Brabant’ and T. occidentalis ‘Smaragd’ is reported. It is the first
data on the essential oils composition of these cultivars.
T. occidentalis ‘Brabant’ and T. occidentalis ‘Smaragd’ were collected in the
Łódź Botanical Garden, Poland, in October 2015. The voucher specimens (Tocb
Unauthenticated
Download Date | 10/12/16 4:32 PM
22
A. Lis, R. Liszkiewicz, A. Krajewska
1/2015 and Tocs 1/2015) have been deposited in the Herbarium of the Institute of
General Food Chemistry, Lodz University of Technology.
Fresh branches were divided into four groups: twigs with leaves, leaves, twigs
without leaves and cones. Each sample of fresh plant material (100.0 g) was cut
into small pieces (0.5 cm long) and hydrodistilled in a Deryng apparatus for 3 hours
to obtain essential oil. Three replicates of each sample were carried out. The oils
had pale yellow color and pleasant, intensive herbal-camphoraceous aroma.
The chemical composition of the oils were determined by simultaneous GC/FID
and GC/MS analyses using a MS-FID splitter (SGE Analytical Science) and a Trace
GC Ultra gas chromatograph coupled with a DSQ II mass spectrometer (Thermo
Electron Corporation). The apparatus was equipped with an apolar capillary col-
umn Rtx-1 (dimethylpolysiloxane), 60 m × 0.25 mm × 0.25 µm film thickness
(Restek, Bellafonte, PA, USA). The oven temperature was programmed from 50°C
to 300°C, rising 4°C/min. Injector temperature was 280°C, detector temperature
300°C, ion source temperature 200°C, carrier gas helium with constant pressure
300 kPa, ionization voltage 70 eV, mass range 33–420 amu.
Identification of components was based on comparison of their retention indi-
ces RI and their mass spectra MS with those of commercial libraries MassFinder
3.1, NIST 98.2, Wiley Registry of Mass Spectral Data 8th ed. and literature [23].
A quantitative analysis (expressed as percentage of each component) was car-
ried out by peak area normalization measurements without correction factors.
Ethical approval: The conducted research is not related to either human or animal use.
The yields (averages of three replicates) and chemical composition of the es-
sential oils from different parts of T. occidentalis ‘Smaragd’ and T. occidentalis ‘Bra-
bant’ are presented in table 1. The yield of the oil depends on the variety and
plant organ. Twigs with leaves of ‘Brabant’ variety contained 2.5 times more oil
Unauthenticated
Download Date | 10/12/16 4:32 PM
Vol. 62 No. 3 2016
23
Comparison of chemical composition of the essential oils from different parts of Thuja occidentalis L. ‘Brabant’...
than twigs with leaves of ‘Smaragd’ variety (1.20% and 0.48%, respectively). In both
varieties, leaves contained several times more oil than twigs without leaves (1.21%
and 0.12%; 0.50% and 0.09%, respectively). Most of the oil contained cones of ‘Bra-
bant’ variety (1.50%). According to the literature data, the content of the essential
oil in T. occidentalis fresh leaves varied between 0.35% [13] to 0.82% [7]. Present
study shows that ‘Brabant’ variety of T. occidentalis is much richer in essential oil
than previously described plants of this species.
Chemical composition of the essential oils from twigs with leaves (A), leaves (B), twigs
without leaves (C), cones (D) of Thuja occidentalis L. ‘Smaragd’ and T. occidentalis L. ‘Brabant’
Compound RI
Percentage
T. occidentalis ‘Smaragd’ T. occidentalis ‘Brabant’
A B C A B C D
α-Thujene 925 0.5 0.4 tr 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.5
α-Pinene 932 0.9 0.9 1.5 0.7 0.8 0.5 4.4
α-Fenchene 939 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.3
Camphene 944 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3
Sabinene 968 8.9 9.3 3.1 2.8 3.0 0.2 11.2
β-Pinene 970 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 tr 0.4
Myrcene 982 1.5 1.5 0.5 0.8 0.8 0.1 1.6
α-Terpinene 1006 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.6 1.0
p-Cymene 1009 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 1.1 0.3
Limonene 1020 0.9 0.9 0.6 0.8 0.7 0.8 1.1
γ-Terpinene 1050 0.7 0.6 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.8 1.6
trans-Sabinene hydrate 1054 0.4 0.4 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.6
Fenchone 1067 5.0 4.9 3.0 7.7 7.7 8.0 7.3
Terpinolene 1079 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.5
α-Thujone 1093 49.2 49.3 38.4 61.6 61.0 64.4 42.1
β-Thujone 1100 3.2 3.6 2.9 10.4 10.7 10.4 10.2
cis-p-Menth-2-en-1-ol 1108 0.6 0.5 0.3 0.6 0.6 0.3 0.9
Camphor 1120 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.3
Neoisothujol 1125 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.4
Camphene hydrate 1134 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.5
Thujol 1151 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.3
Terpinen-4-ol 1163 1.8 1.9 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.2 5.3
α-Terpineol 1174 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.5
Bornyl acetate 1269 1.2 1.2 1.7 2.6 2.6 2.7 2.2
Sabinyl acetate 1276 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.2
α-Terpinyl acetate 1333 0.7 0.7 1.1 0.8 0.8 0.2 0.8
Unauthenticated
Download Date | 10/12/16 4:32 PM
24
A. Lis, R. Liszkiewicz, A. Krajewska
Compound RI
Percentage
T. occidentalis ‘Smaragd’ T. occidentalis ‘Brabant’
A B C A B C D
Germacrene D-4-ol 1566 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2
Caryophyllene oxide 1571 0.4 0.4 4.1 0.1 tr tr tr
Humulene epoxide II 1594 0.3 0.2 1.7 tr tr tr
epi-α-Muurolol 1626 0.3 0.3 0.8 tr tr tr
α-Cadinol 1638 0.3 0.3 0.7 0.1 tr tr
Rimuene 1896 2.0 2.0 3.1 0.6 0.7 0.2 0.1
Beyerene 1944 13.2 12.8 20.1 1.0 1.1 0.4 0.2
Abietatriene 2040 0.1 0.1 0.6 tr tr tr 0.1
Totarol 2249 tr tr 2.8 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.2
Abietal 2256 tr tr 1.4 0.1
Oil yield 0.48 0.50 0.09 1.20 1.21 0.12 1.50
RI – retention indices on Rtx-1 column; tr – trace (<0.05%);
compounds with quantity 0.1–0.3% in A-D oils: α-phellandrene, trans-p-menth-2-en-1-ol, sabina ketone, neothujol, ver-
benone, trans-piperitol, fenchyl acetate, thymol methyl ether, carvacrol methyl ether, cis-sabinene hydrate acetate,
trans-sabinene hydrate acetate, geranyl acetate, (E)-cinnamyl acetate, (E)-β-caryophyllene, (E)-ethyl cinnamate, ethyl
(2E,4Z)-deca-2,4-dienoate, α-humulene, α-muurolene, γ-cadinene, δ-cadinene, elemol, β-oplopenone, 1-epi-cubenol,
14-hydroxy-β-caryophyllene, oplopanone, pimara-8(14),15-diene, manoyl oxide, kaur-15-ene, abieta-7,13-diene;
compounds with quantity < 0.1% in A-D oils: tricyclene, 3-carene, cuminyl acetate, γ-muurolene, tridecan-2-one, ger-
macrene D, epi-cubebol, α-cadinene, (E)-nerolidol
More than seventy compounds representing 97–99% of oils were identified in
each, ‘Brabant’ and ‘Smaragd’ varieties of T. occidentalis. The composition of the
oils from leaves, twigs with leaves and twigs without leaves of ‘Brabant’ vari-
ety were similar. The main constituents of the oils were α-thujone (61.0–64.4%),
β-thujone (10.4–10.7%) and fenchone (7.7–8.0%). A few components were of con-
centration 1–3%: sabinene, terpinen-4-ol, bornyl acetate and beyerene, while
others amounted lower than 1%. The oil from cones of this variety differed in
quantitative composition. It contained mainly α-thujone (42.1%), sabinene (11.2%),
β-thujone (10.2%), fenchone (7.3%), terpinen-4-ol (5.3%) and α-pinene (4.4%). This
is the first report on the composition of the cone essential oil of T. occidentalis
species. The oil from leaves and twigs with leaves of ‘Smaragd’ variety contained
α-thujone (49.2–49.3%), beyerene (12.8–13.2%), sabinene (8.9–9.3%), fenchone
(4.9–5.0%) and β-thujone (3.2–3.6%) as the main constituents. However, in the oil
from twigs without leaves there were α-thujone (38.4%), beyerene (20.1%) and
caryophyllene oxide (4.1%).
The chemical profiles of the oils from ‘Brabant’ and ‘Smaragd’ varieties of T. oc-
cidentalis were comparable, having α-thujone as the dominant compound. On the
other hand, significant differences between the oils were observed. The oil of ‘Bra-
bant’ variety contained higher total content of monoterpene ketones α-thujone,
β-thujone and fenchone (79.4–82.8%) in comparison with the oil of ‘Smaragd’ va-
riety (44.3–57.8%), as well as lower content of diterpene hydrocarbons (0.6–1.8%
Unauthenticated
Download Date | 10/12/16 4:32 PM
Vol. 62 No. 3 2016
25
Comparison of chemical composition of the essential oils from different parts of Thuja occidentalis L. ‘Brabant’...
and 14.9–23.8%, respectively) and monoterpene hydrocarbons (5.5–7.4% and 6.8–
15.1%, respectively).
Regarding to the previously reported T. occidentalis oils, the composition of ‘Bra-
bant’ variety oil resembled laboratory distilled leaf oil of T. occidentalis (variety not
indicated) from Wroclaw, Poland, with high level of α-thujone (69.8%), β-thujone
(9.5%) and fenchone (7.8%) [19]. In turn, the composition of ‘Smaragd’ variety oil
was similar with the oil of aurea variety growing in Gdańsk, Poland, and malo-
nyana variety from Slovakia, in which lower content of α-thujone (30.4–51.6%) and
higher content of diterpenes (11.2–23.8%) were found [13, 15]. Commercial oil of
T. occidentalis produced in Canada and USA contained mainly α-thujone (45–51%),
fenchone (13–15%) and β-thujone (7–9%), but no diterpenes [8, 11, 18]. So, the oil
from ‘Brabant’ variety as well as from ‘Smaragd’ variety differed in quantitative
composition from American oils.
1. The yield and chemical composition of the essential oil of T. occidentalis depend
on the variety and plant organ.
2. Twigs of fast-growing T. occidentalis ‘Brabant’ can be a very good source of natu-
ral thujones due to high amount of essential oil and high content of thujones
in the oil.
Conflict of interest: Authors declare no conflict of interest.
1. Seneta W, Dolatowski J. Dendrologia. Warszawa. PWN, 2004:71-75.
2. Johnston FW. Thuja occidentalis L. northern white-cedar. http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/
Volume_1/thuja/occidentalis.htm (10.03.2016).
3. Wilder J. Iglaki w ogrodzie. Wyd. Arystoteles, Warszawa 2013:55.
4. Naser B, Bodinet C, Tegtmeier M, Lindequist U. Thuja occidentalis (Arbor vitae): A review of its
pharmaceutical, pharmacological and clinical properties. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2005;
2(1):69-78. doi:10.1093/ecam/neh065
5. Brijesh K, Ruchi R, Sanjita D, Saumaya D. Phytoconstituents and therapeutic potential of Thuja
occidentalis. Res J Pharm Biol Chem Sci 2012; 3(2):354-362.
6. Jasuja ND, Sharma D, Choudhary J, Joshi SC. Essential oil and important activities of Thuja orientalis
and Thuja occidentalis. J Essent Oil Bearing Pl 2015; 18(4):931-949. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/097206
0X.2014.884774
7. Akkol EK, Ilhan M, Demirel MA, Keles H, Tumen I, Suntar I. Thuja occidentalis L. and its active compound,
α-thujone: promising effect in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome without inducing
osteroporosis. J Ethnopharmacol 2015; 168:25-30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2015.03.029
8. Kamden PD, Pascal D, Hanover JW, Gage DA. Contribution to the study of the essential oil of Thuja
occidentalis L. J Essent Oil Res 1993; 5(2):117-122.
9. Lawrence BM. Progress in essential oils. Cedarleaf oil. Perf Flav 1988; 13(5):64-65.
10. Lawrence BM. Progress in essential oils. Cedarleaf oil. Perf Flav 1990; 15(6):56.
Unauthenticated
Download Date | 10/12/16 4:32 PM
26
A. Lis, R. Liszkiewicz, A. Krajewska
11. Lawrence BM. Progress in essential oils. Cedarleaf oil. Perf Flav 1995; 20(5):103-104.
12. Lawrence BM. Progress in essential oils. Cedarleaf oil. Perf Flav 2007; 32(6):40-52.
13. Svajdlenka E, Martonfi P, Tomasko I, Grancai D, Nagy M. Essential oil composition of Thuja occidentalis
L. samples from Slovakia. J Essent Oil Res 1999; 11(5):532-536. http:dx.doi.org/10.1080/10412905.
1999.97011208
14. Jirovetz L, Buchbauer G, Denkova Z, Slavchev A, Stoyanova A, Schmidt E. Chemical composition,
antimicrobial activities and odor descriptions of various Salvia sp. and Thuja sp. essential oils.
Ernahrung Nutrition 2006; 30(4):152-159.
15. Tsiri D, Graikou K, Pobłocka-Olech L, Krauze-Baranowska M, Spyropoulos C, Chinou I. Chemosystematic
value of the essential oil composition of Thuja species cultivated in Poland – antimicrobial activity.
Molecules 2009; 14:4707-4715. doi:10.3390/molecules14114707
16. Badawy MEI, Abdelgaleil SAM. Composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oils isolated from
Egyptian plants against plant pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Ind Crop Prod 2014; 52:776-782. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2013.12.003
17. Mohareb ASO, Badawy MEI, Abdelgaleil SAM. Antifungal activity of essential oils isolated from
Egyptian plants against wood decay fungi. J Wood Sci 2013; 59(6):499-505. DOI 10.1007/s10086-
013-1361-3
18. Keita SM, Vincent Ch, Schmidt J-P, Arnason JT. Insecticidal effect of Thuja occidentalis (Cupressaceae)
essential oil on Callosobruchus maculatus [Coleoptera: Bruchidae]. Can J Plant Sci 2001; 81:173-177.
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.4141/P00-059
19. Szołtyga B, Gniłka R, Szczepanik M, Szumny A. Chemical composition of Thuja occidentalis and
Tanacetum vulgare essential oils against larvae of the lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus. Entomol
Experim Appl 2014; 151:1-10. DOI:10.1111/eea.12166
20. Pavela R. Insecticidal activity of some essential oils against larvae of Spodoptera littoralis. Fitoterapia
2005; 76(7-8):691-696. doi:10.1016/j.fitote.2005.06.001
21. Benelli G, Flamini G, Canale A, Cioni PL, Conti B. Toxicity of some essential oil formulations against
Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera tephritidae). Crop Prot 2012; 42:223-
229. doi:10.1016/j.cropro.2012.05.024
22. Hosseinzadeh J, Farazmand H, Karimpour Y. Insecticidal effect of Thuja occidentalis L. essential oil
on adults of Lasioderma serricorne F. (Anobiidae) under laboratory conditions. Iran J Med Aromatic Pl
2014; 30(1):123-133.
23. Adams RP. Identification of essential oil components by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. 4th
ed. Carol Streem, IL, USA. Allured Publ. Corp., 2007:1-804.
PORÓWNANIE SKŁADU CHEMICZNEGO OLEJKÓW ETERYCZNYCH Z RÓŻNYCH CZĘŚCI
MORFOLOGICZNYCH THUJA OCCIDENTALIS L. ‘BRABANT’ I T. OCCIDENTALIS L. ‘SMARAGD’
ANNA LIS*, ROZALIA LISZKIEWICZ, AGNIESZKA KRAJEWSKA
Instytut Podstaw Chemii Żywności
Politechnika Łódzka
ul. Stefanowskiego 4/10
90-924 Łódź
*autor, do którego należy kierować korespondencję: anna.lis@p.lodz.pl
Unauthenticated
Download Date | 10/12/16 4:32 PM
Vol. 62 No. 3 2016
27
Comparison of chemical composition of the essential oils from different parts of Thuja occidentalis L. ‘Brabant’...
Streszczenie
Thuja occidentalis ‘Brabant’ i T. occidentalis ‘Smaragd’ są powszechnie uprawiane w
Polsce jako rośliny dekoracyjne w parkach i jako żywopłotowe w ogrodach. Celem ba-
dań było określenie wydajności i składu chemicznego olejków eterycznych z różnych czę-
ści morfologicznych tych odmian. Olejki eteryczne otrzymano metodą hydro-
destylacji, następnie analizowano je metodą GC/MS. Zidentyfikowano ponad 70
składników. Olejki z liści, gałązek z liśćmi i gałązek bez liści odmiany ‘Brabant’ zawierały
głównie α-tujon (61,0–64,4%), β-tujon (10,4–10,7%) i fenchon (7,7–8,0%), natomiast olejek
z szyszek α-tujon (42,1%), sabinen (11,2%) i β-tujon (10,2%). Głównymi składnikami olejków
z liści i gałązek z liśćmi odmiany ‘Smaragd’ były α-tujon (49,2–49,3%), bejeren (12,8–13,2%)
i sabinen (8,9–9,3%). Zawartość i skład chemiczny olejków eterycznych zależy od
odmiany i części morfologicznych T. occidentalis. Olejek z odmiany ‘Brabant’ zawierał wię-
cej tujonów, a mniej diterpenów w porównaniu z olejkiem z odmiany ‘Smaragd’.
Thuja occidentalis ‘Brabant’, Thuja occidentalis ‘Smaragd’, skład olejku eterycz-
nego, α-tujon, β-tujon, bejeren
Unauthenticated
Download Date | 10/12/16 4:32 PM
