Cedar is the fruit of conifers of the genus Cedrus belonging to the family of the Pinaceae, native to the Mediterranean, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey.

Popular plants of the genus Cedrus: Cedrus Libani, Cedrus deodara, Cedrus brevifolia. Cedrus atlantica

The plant and its fruits have been used for centuries in traditional medicine against various diseases.

Its composition includes steroids, procyanidins and terpenoids.

In particular, in the seeds are present chloroform, alpha-pinene and beta-pinene in a rather abundant measure which, probably, are involved in the antiproliferative activity against leukemic cells K562 (1).

A new phenolic compound, 3-p-trans-coumaroyl-2-hydroxyquinic acid, isolated from Cedrus deodara, has proven effective against certain bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus. The discovery is interesting because of the great demand of the food industry for natural antibacterial agents (2).

Another interesting active compound, also obtained from Cedrus deodara pine needles, 2R,3R-dihydromyricetin, has shown a strong anti-oxidative capacity and can be used to prevent browning of foods (3).

The fruits contain vitamin C and traces of minerals, but there is no evidence in the scientific literature of the benefits celebrated by ethnic medicine.

An essential oil with antimicrobial and antifungal properties is obtained from the wood.

Cedar studies

References_____________________________________

(1) Antiproliferative and Erythroid Differentiation Activities of Cedrus libani Seed  Extracts against K562 Human Chronic Myelogenus Leukemia Cells Antoine M. Saab, Ilaria Lampronti, Alessandro Grandini, Monica Borgatti, Alessia Finotti,
Gianni Sacchetti,  Roberto Gambari, Alessandra Guerrini  International Journal of Pharmaceutical & Biological Archives 2011; 2(6):1744-1748

(2) Antibacterial Activity and Membrane-Disruptive Mechanism of 3-p-trans-Coumaroyl-2-hydroxyquinic Acid, a Novel Phenolic Compound from Pine Needles of Cedrus deodara, against Staphylococcus aureus.  Wu Y, Bai J, Zhong K, Huang Y, Qi H, Jiang Y, Gao H.  Molecules. 2016 Aug 18;21(8). pii: E1084. doi: 10.3390/molecules21081084.

(3) A potent antibrowning agent from pine needles of Cedrus deodara: 2R,3R-dihydromyricetin.  Liang X, Wu YP, Qiu JH, Zhong K, Gao H.  J Food Sci. 2014 Sep;79(9):C1643-8. doi: 10.1111/1750-3841.12583.