Juniper, Juniperus virginiana, ext.

Chemical properties

Virginia cedarwood oil is produced by steam distillation of sawdust, finely chipped waste wood from the manufacture of cedarwood products, or from stumps and logs of the red cedar; Juniperus virginiana L. (Cupressaceae). It is a light yellow to pale brown, viscous liquid with a characteristic cedarwood odor.The oil sometimes solidifies at room temperature.
d²⁰₂₀ 0.941–0.965; n²⁰_D 1.5010–1.5100; α²⁰_D ?36 ° to ?16°; solubility: 1 vol in max. 5 vol of 95% ethanol. Composition by GC: ??-cedrene 22–35%; thujopsene 10–25%, cedrol 16–25%.
While the Texas cedar grows in Mexico and other Central American countries, the Virginia cedar grows exclusively in the southeast of the United States. Virginia cedar oil is used mainly for perfuming soaps and other products, whereas Texas cedarwood oil is the starting material for the isolation of cedrol, which is used as such or is converted to further fragrance materials such as cedryl acetate and cedryl methyl ether. Acetylation of the remaining sesquiterpenes, particularly α-cedrene and thujopsene, leads to the valuable fragrance material methyl cedryl ketone. Annual production amounts to 500–600 t of Texas oil and few 100 t of Virginia oil.