Assessment of the use of common juniper (Juniperus communis L.) foliage following the cascade principle

Juniperus communis L. is a species commonly grown in regions of the Northern Hemisphere, and is a good candidate to be cultivated in marginal lands. Plants coming from a pruning performed in a natural population located in Spain were used to assess the yield and quality of different products obtaine...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 28; no. 10; p. 4008
Main Authors:	Mediavilla, Irene, Bados, Raquel, Barros, Lillian, Xavier, Virginie, Finimundy, Tiane Cristine, Pires, Tânia, Heleno, Sandrina A., Calhelha, Ricardo C., Soares Amaral, Joana Andrêa, Rizzo, Andrea Maria, Casini, David, Lombardi, Giacomo, Chiaramonti, David, Camara, Miguel, Suarez, Ana, Ardid, Tomas, Esteban, Luis Saúl
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Switzerland MDPI 10-05-2023 MDPI AG
Subjects:	Absorbent Absorbents Alternative energy sources Antifungal Agents - pharmacology Antioxidants Antioxidants - pharmacology Bioactivity Biochar Biological activity Biomass Cabras Carbon Charcoal Chemical composition Cosmetics Essential oil Essential oils Foliage Fungicides Hydrolate International standardization International standards Juniperus - chemistry Juniperus communis Microorganisms Moisture content Odor control Oils & fats Oils, Volatile - chemistry Oils, Volatile - pharmacology Oxidation Pet care industry Principles Quality assessment Soil improvement Standard deviation Eastern Europe Portugal Spain absorbent essential oil bioactivity biochar hydrolate
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Summary:	Juniperus communis L. is a species commonly grown in regions of the Northern Hemisphere, and is a good candidate to be cultivated in marginal lands. Plants coming from a pruning performed in a natural population located in Spain were used to assess the yield and quality of different products obtained following the cascade principle. A total of 1050 kg of foliage biomass were crushed, steam-distilled, and separated into fractions to produce biochar and absorbents for the pet industry using pilot plants. The obtained products were analysed. The essential oil, with a yield of 0.45% dry basis and a qualitative chemical composition similar to that described for the berries in international standards or monographs, showed antioxidant activity with promising CAA results (inhibition of 89% of the cell's oxidation). However, regarding antibacterial and antifungal activities, it only inhibited the growth of microorganisms at the maximum concentration tested, 2.5%. Concerning the hydrolate, it did not show bioactivity. Regarding the biochar, whose yield was 28.79% dry basis, interesting results were obtained for its characterisation as a possible soil improver for agronomic purposes (PFC 3(A)). Finally, promising results were obtained regarding the use of common juniper as absorbent, taking into account the physical characterisation and odour control capacity. The authors are also thankful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020) and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2020); L. Barros, R. Calhelha, and S. Heleno (CEECIND/00831/2018) thank the national funding by FCT, P.I., through the institutional and individual scientific employment program-contract for their contract.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1420-3049 1420-3049
DOI:	10.3390/molecules28104008