Comparative Antioxidant Activity and Volatile Oil Composition of Leaves and Fruits of Thuja orientalis Growing in Egypt

The study compared the antioxidant activity and volatile oil composition of leaves and fruits of Thuja orientalis growing in Egypt. It was found that the fruits were richer in monoterpenes (62.5%) while the leaves had more sesquiterpenes (57%). Major components in the leaf oil included α-cedrol and β-caryophyllene, whereas the fruit oil was rich in α-pinene and α-cedrol. The fruits also had higher total phenolic content (0.75 mg GE/g) and flavonoid content (0.6267 mg RE/g) compared to the leaves. Additionally, the fruit extracts exhibited greater antioxidant activity (2.3516 mg AEAC/g) than the leaves. These findings suggested that the extracts of T. orientalis could be valuable for the pharmaceutical industry.