Influence of the process, season, and origin on volatile composition and antioxidant activity of Juniperus phoenicea L. leaves essential oils.

Essential oils of Juniperus phoenicea L. leaves cultivated in 3 regions, Korbos, Matmata, and Tabarka of Tunisia were obtained by hydrodistillation (HD), steam distillation (SD), and Soxhlet (SH) extraction methods. The essential oils were analyzed and quantified by capillary gas chromatography using flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The highest yield was observed in HD process (1.12%). Tabarka essential oil provided the best yield 0.79% compared to other regions. December month SD essential oil was the highest in oxygenated monoterpenes (52.7%). Nevertheless, SH essential oil showed a higher content in sesquitepenes hydrocarbons (64.5%). α-Terpinol (25.5%) was the main oxygenated component in Matmata juniper essential oil, extracted by SD. Moreover, the antioxidant activity of essential oils was evaluated using ABTS assays. The strongest antioxidant activity (IC(50) = 22.6 ± 0.7 mg/L) was obtained by the Matmata (October 2007) SD essential oil.