Composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the seed essential oil of Calocedrus formosana from Taiwan.

The hydrodistillated seed essential oil of Calocedrus formosana was analyzed to determine its composition and yield. Twenty-seven compounds were identified, the main ones being alpha-pinene (63.8%), totarol (9.9%) and ferruginol (8.9%). Monoterpene hydrocarbons (73.5%) and oxygenated diterpenes (18.8%) were the predominant groups of compounds. The seed essential oil exhibited excellent antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-wood-decay fungal activities.