Chemical Properties
Virginia cedarwood oil is produced by steam distillation of sawdust, finely
chipped waste wood from the manufacture of cedarwood products, or from
stumps and logs of the red cedar; Juniperus virginiana L. (Cupressaceae). It is a light yellow to pale brown, viscous liquid with a characteristic
cedarwood odor.The oil sometimes solidifies at room temperature.
d
2020 0.941–0.965; n
20D 1.5010–1.5100; α
20D ?36 ° to ?16°; solubility: 1 vol
in max. 5 vol of 95% ethanol. Composition by GC: ??-cedrene 22–35%; thujopsene
10–25%, cedrol 16–25%.
While the Texas cedar grows in Mexico and other Central American
countries, the Virginia cedar grows exclusively in the southeast of the
United States. Virginia cedar oil is used mainly for perfuming soaps and
other products, whereas Texas cedarwood oil is the starting material for
the isolation of cedrol, which is used as such or is converted to
further fragrance materials such as cedryl acetate and cedryl
methyl ether. Acetylation of the remaining sesquiterpenes,
particularly α-cedrene and thujopsene, leads to the valuable
fragrance material methyl cedryl ketone.
Annual production amounts to 500–600 t of Texas oil and few 100 t of
Virginia oil.
