Isolation of Juniperus phoenicea volatiles by supercritical carbon dioxide extraction and bioactivity assays

By means of a supercritical fluid extractor, extract of Juniperus phoenicea L. was obtained in a single extraction stage. The yield was 0.2% by mass. The operative conditions were: extractor, pressure, P = 90 bar and temperature, T = 50degreesC; first separator, P = 90 bar and T = -10degreesC; second separator, P = 15 bar and T = 10degreesC. The hydrodistilled oil gave a yield of 0.3% by mass. In both extracts, the three compounds present in the biggest quantity were: alpha-pinene (18.4 versus 13.9% in the SFE and HD oil, respectively), germacrene D (14.3 versus 8.1%) and beta-caryophyllene (8.7 versus 5.4%). The extracts obtained at different pressures were tested for antiviral, antiproliferative and antimicrobial activities. The results showed that the extracts obtained at 200 and 300 bar were cytotoxic against different cell lines and were active against a single-stranded RNA(-) virus. The extracts containing the most cytotoxic active principles showed also antiproliferative activity against a panel of human cell lines derived from liquid and solid tumors. When tested for antimicrobial activity none of the samples resulted active.