Analysis of the essential oil of Juniperus procera Endl. growing in Kenya.

The essential oil of the wood of Juniperus procera Endl. (Cupressaceae) from the Aberdares mountains, Central Province, Kenya has been extracted by steam distillation for varying times and analyzed using GC and GC-MS. The optimum time has been found to be 8 hours with the yield of the oil and cedrol as 0.48 and 79.10%, respectively. Other constituents include 3,4-dimethylbiphenyl, a-cedrene, camphor, trans-geraniol, eugenol, and a-terpineol.