The composition, anti-mildew and anti-wood-decay fungal activities of the leaf and fruit oils of Juniperus formosana from Taiwan

Abstract

In this study, anti-mildew and anti-wood-decay fungal activities of the leaf and fruits essential oil and its constituents from Juniperus formosana were evaluated in vitro against seven mildew fungi and four wood decay fungi, respectively. The main compounds responsible for the anti-mildew and anti-wood-decay fungal activities were also identified. The essential oil from the fresh leaves and fruits of J. formosana were isolated using hydrodistillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus, and characterized by GC-FID and GC-MS, respectively. The leaf oil mainly consisted of α-pinene (41.0%), limonene (11.5%), α-cadinol (11.0%), elemol (6.3%), and β-myrcene (5.8%); the fruit oil was mostly α-pinene (40.9%), β-myrcene (32.4%), α-thujene (5.9%) and limonene (5.9%). Comparing the anti-mildew and anti-wood-decay fungal activities of the oils suggested that the leaf oil was the most effective. For the anti-mildew and anti-wood-decay fungal activities of the leaf oil, the active source compounds were determined to be α-cadinol and elemol.