Effect of Age and Vegetative Stage on Essential Oil Content and Chemical Composition of Thuya Articulata

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of age and the harvest period on the content and chemical composition of essential oils extracted from leaves of Thuya (Tetraclinis articulata Vahl Masters).The best concentration of essential oils is 22% obtained from mature leaves in March for the period of flowering of the tree. The chromatographic profile of mature leaves revealed the presence of 22 components including α-pinene, limonene, camphor, borneol and bornyl acetate are the majority. The levels of these compounds and the percentages of other constituents do not seem to depend from a notable of the harvest period.