Chemical Composition of Juniperus phoenicea and J. drupacea Essential Oils and their Biological Effects in the Choriallantoic Membrane (CAM) Assay

The aim of the present study was the chemical analysis of the essential oils from Juniperus phoenicea and J. drupacea female cones and evaluation of their biological effects. Fresh samples, collected in Greece, were subjected separately to hydrodistillation and the oils obtained analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. The oils were assessed using the CAM (chorioallantoic membrane) assay to evaluate their anti-angiogenic potential and the lack of irritant effects in topical application. GC analysis showed that mainly quantitative differences among the samples were observed: limonene was the most abundant compound in J. drupacea (27.0%) compared with J. phoenicea oil (1.6%); the content of α-pinene was high in both essential oils (J. phoenicea 22.1%, J. drupacea 26.1%) followed by germacrene D (J. phoenicea 7.4%, J. drupacea 7.1%, respectively). Nevertheless, qualitative differences were also detected as the diterpene 4-epi-abietal was present in a considerable amount (13.2%) in J. phoenicea essential oil, but was not detected in J. drupacea oil. In the CAM assay, only J. phoenicea essential oil evidenced a rather weak anti-angiogenic activity compared with the standard retinoic acid, but no irritant effect was observed for either essential oil suggesting their safety for topical application.