Cedar Leaf EO

Latin name :

Thuja occidentalis

Botanical profile :

The cedar cultivated here is actually of the Cupressaceae family and of the genus Thuja.

Geographic origin :

Originally from northeastern North America, Thuya occidentalis is mainly cultivated in Canada, the United States, the Balkans and Lapland.

Chemotypes :

There are several trees of the genus Thuja, cultivated in the world, especially for the smell of their wood and leaves:
Thuya plicata has an essential oil from its wood, very rich in tropolones.
Thuya orientalis has an essential oil containing a high level of Alpha-Pinene.
Tetraclinis articulata provides an essential oil recognized for its anti-tumour properties.
Thujopsis dolobrata (called hiba) is found in Japan.
Viota orientalis (called biota) is very present in Asia, from Iran to Korea.

Extraction process :

This cedar, also called white cedar, is actually not a cedar of the genus Cedrus: it is a Thuja. Thujas are small trees whose leaves are famous for their smell and for their secretion of thujone and fenchone.
The leafy twigs are cut to dry. Once dried, they are placed in a distillation tank to be extracted by steam distillation under a high pressure. The vapours are refrigerated to condense the water and the essential oil, finally separated in a florentine vase, to collect the essential oil of cedar leaf.
The oil may be subject to some reprocessing after the extraction, especially to reduce its rate of thujones. After that, the olfactory characteristics are no longer the same.

Major Components :

Alpha-Thuyone (50-60%)
15-Beyerene (8-14%)
Fenchone (7-11%)
Beta-Thuyone (6-9%)
Sabinene (3-8%)
Bornyl Acetate (3-6%)
Rimuene (1-11%)
Terpinen-4-ol (2-3%)