Chemical composition and analyses of enantiomers of essential oil obtained by steam distillation of Juniperus oxycedrus L. growing in Algeria

Essential oil of Juniperus oxycedrus growing in Algeria was obtained by steam distillation extraction method. The oil was analysed by capillary columns (non-polar DB5 and HP-chiral-20B) using gas chromatography with flame ionization and mass spectrometric detections. The compounds were identified according to their retention indices and mass spectra (EI, 70 eV). The oil contained α-pinene (36.7%), -3-carene (10.6%), limonene (5.8%), myrcene (4.9%) as major constituents. In addition to these components bornyl acetate (6.0%) and camphor (4.1%) were also present. In oil steam distilled 12 chiral compounds were detected. The enantiomeric distribution of chiral compounds revealed that for -pinene and bornyl acetate, the (+)-enantiomeric forms were present with more than 16.7% and 8.03% respectively, in the total peak area of the essential oil characterized.