Chemical Composition, Cytotoxic and Antibacterial Activities of Essential Oils of Cultivated Clones of Juniperus communis and Wild Juniperus Species

Needles of seven cultivated clones (C1 – C7) of Juniperus communis at lower altitude and three wild Juniperus species ( J .  communis , J .  recurva and J .  indica ) at higher altitudes were investigated comparatively for their essential oils ( EO s) yields, chemical composition, cytotoxic and antibacterial activities. The EO s yields varied from 0.26 to 0.56% (v/w) among samples. Sixty‐one volatile components were identified by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry ( GC / MS ) and quantified using gas chromatography GC ( FID ) representing 82.5 – 95.7% of the total oil. Monoterpene hydrocarbons (49.1 – 82.8%) dominated in all samples ( α ‐pinene, limonene and sabinene as major components). Principal component analysis ( PCA ) of GC data revealed that wild and cultivated Juniperus species are highly distinct due to variation in chemical composition. J .  communis (wild species) displayed cytotoxicity against SiHa (human cervical cancer), A549 (human lung carcinoma) and A431 (human skin carcinoma) cells (66.4 ± 2.2%, 74.4 ± 1.4% and 57.4 ± 4.0%), respectively, at 200 μg/ml. EO s exhibited better antibacterial activity against Gram‐positive bacteria than against Gram‐negative bacteria with the highest zone of inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 96 (19.2 ± 0.7) by clone‐7. As per the conclusion of the findings, EO s of clone‐2, clone‐5 and clone‐7 can be suggested to the growers of lower altitude, as there is more possibility of uses of these EO s in food and medicinal preparations.