Juniperus Communis Fruit Oil is a product of natural origin obtained from the juniper plant.

Description of raw materials used in production:

• Juniperus Communis Fruits. The fruits of the juniper are rich in essential oils and bioactive compounds, including terpenes like pinene, which impart the oil's noted aromatic and therapeutic properties.

Industrial Production Process

• Steam Distillation of Juniperus Communis fruits. During this process, steam passes through the fruits, extracting the essential oil, which is then condensed and collected.
• Purification. After distillation, the oil is purified to remove any impurities and optimize the quality of the fragrance and therapeutic properties.
• Quality Control. Juniperus Communis fruit oil undergoes quality testing to ensure it meets the required standards in terms of purity, aromatic profile, and chemical properties.

What it is for and where

Juniper berry oil is known for its antioxidant, astringent, and purifying properties. It is valued for its refreshing and toning effect on the skin, as well as for its distinctive and slightly woody aroma. Additionally, it is used in aromatherapy for its calming and relaxing effects. It is widely used in aromatherapy and as an ingredient in cosmetic and skincare products, such as lotions, creams, and massage oils.

Cosmetics

Fragrance. It plays a very important role in the formulation of cosmetic products as it provides the possibility of enhancing, masking or adding fragrance to the final product, increasing its marketability. It is able to create a perceptible pleasant odour, masking a bad smell. The consumer always expects to find a pleasant or distinctive scent in a cosmetic product. 

Perfuming. Unlike fragrance, which can also contain slightly less pleasant or characteristic odours, the term perfume indicates only very pleasant fragrances. Used for perfumes and aromatic raw materials.

Cosmetic astringent. This ingredient exerts a direct effect on the skin by tightening dilated pores by contracting stratum corneum cells and removing superfluous oil.

CAS       84603-69-0

EC number   283-268-3

Form and Color

Juniperus Communis Fruit Oil, also known as juniper berry oil, is typically a liquid. This essential oil has a color that ranges from clear to light yellow.

Juniperus Communis, commonly known as common juniper, is an evergreen plant belonging to the Cupressaceae family. It is widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, including northern Europe, Asia, and America. Juniper is known for its particular aroma and is used in cooking, alcoholic beverage production, and traditional medicine.

Chemical Composition and Properties

The plant is a source of invert sugars, wax, gums, resins, flavonoids, organic acids, aromatic oils, terpenic acids, alkaloids, tannins, lignins, catechin, and other compounds (1). Its fruits, or berries, are used for their emmenagogue, sudorific, carminative, diuretic, urinary antiseptic, digestive, and anti-inflammatory properties.

Biological Activities

Extracts of Juniperus Communis and its essential oils have demonstrated antifungal, antiviral, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities (2). Recent studies have also uncovered hypolipidemic and cytotoxic activities of juniper berries. Juniper has been studied for its therapeutic potential in various diseases. The essential oil of juniper berries is currently indicated as an herbal medicinal treatment for dyspepsia. The main constituent of the oil is α-pinene, which has shown several biological activities in in vitro and in vivo studies.

Traditional and Modern Medicine

Juniper has been used in traditional medicine to treat various conditions, including digestive and inflammatory disorders. Modern research is exploring its use as a natural alternative to synthetic drugs (3).

References_____________________________________________________________________

(1) Gonçalves AC, Flores-Félix JD, Coutinho P, Alves G, Silva LR. Zimbro (Juniperus communis L.) as a Promising Source of Bioactive Compounds and Biomedical Activities: A Review on Recent Trends. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Mar 16;23(6):3197. doi: 10.3390/ijms23063197. PMID: 35328621; PMCID: PMC8952110.

Abstract. Plant-derived products and their extracted compounds have been used in folk medicine since early times. Zimbro or common juniper (Juniperus communis) is traditionally used to treat renal suppression, acute and chronic cystitis, bladder catarrh, albuminuria, leucorrhea, and amenorrhea. These uses are mainly attributed to its bioactive composition, which is very rich in phenolics, terpenoids, organic acids, alkaloids, and volatile compounds. In the last few years, several studies have analyzed the huge potential of this evergreen shrub, describing a wide range of activities with relevance in different biomedical discipline areas, namely antimicrobial potential against human pathogens and foodborne microorganisms, notorious antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, antidiabetic, antihypercholesterolemic and antihyperlipidemic effects, and neuroprotective action, as well as antiproliferative ability against cancer cells and the ability to activate inductive hepato-, renal- and gastroprotective mechanisms. Owing to these promising activities, extracts and bioactive compounds of juniper could be useful for the development of new pharmacological applications in the treatment of several acute and chronic human diseases.

(2) Höferl M, Stoilova I, Schmidt E, Wanner J, Jirovetz L, Trifonova D, Krastev L, Krastanov A. Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Properties of Juniper Berry (Juniperus communis L.) Essential Oil. Action of the Essential Oil on the Antioxidant Protection of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Model Organism. Antioxidants (Basel). 2014 Feb 24;3(1):81-98. doi: 10.3390/antiox3010081. 

Abstract. The essential oil of juniper berries (Juniperus communis L., Cupressaceae) is traditionally used for medicinal and flavoring purposes. As elucidated by gas chromatography/flame ionization detector (GC/FID) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS methods), the juniper berry oil from Bulgaria is largely comprised of monoterpene hydrocarbons such as α-pinene (51.4%), myrcene (8.3%), sabinene (5.8%), limonene (5.1%) and β-pinene (5.0%). The antioxidant capacity of the essential oil was evaluated in vitro by 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging, 2,2-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6 sulfonic acid (ABTS) radical cation scavenging, hydroxyl radical (ОН(•)) scavenging and chelating capacity, superoxide radical ((•)O₂(-)) scavenging and xanthine oxidase inhibitory effects, hydrogen peroxide scavenging. The antioxidant activity of the oil attributable to electron transfer made juniper berry essential oil a strong antioxidant, whereas the antioxidant activity attributable to hydrogen atom transfer was lower. Lipid peroxidation inhibition by the essential oil in both stages, i.e., hydroperoxide formation and malondialdehyde formation, was less efficient than the inhibition by butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). In vivo studies confirmed these effects of the oil which created the possibility of blocking the oxidation processes in yeast cells by increasing activity of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx).

(3) Raina R, Verma PK, Peshin R, Kour H. Potential of Juniperus communis L as a nutraceutical in human and veterinary medicine. Heliyon. 2019 Aug 31;5(8):e02376. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02376. 

Abstract. Plants have been used for thousands of years as medicine for treating variety of diseases and medical complaints by most of the civilizations. Juniperus communis L. is an evergreen aromatic shrub with high therapeutic potential for the treatment of diseases in human and animals. The plant is rich in aromatic oils, invert sugars, resins, catechin, organic acid, terpenic acids, leucoanthocyanidin, alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, gums, lignins, wax, etc. Juniper berries or extract of the plant has traditionally been used as diuretic, anti-arthritis, anti-diabetes, antiseptic as well as for the treatment of gastrointestinal and autoimmune disorders. The essential oil and extracts of juniper have been experimentally documented to have antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal activities. Recent studies have also found anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects of berries in experimental models. Further, the essential oil incorporation retarded lipid peroxidation in preserved meat due to its high antioxidant effect which not only improved meat product quality but also improved shelf life of the product. Thus natural antioxidant such as juniper can be used in place synthetic antioxidant for the preservation and improving self-life of meat products. New well designed clinical trials in human and animals using well-characterized J. communis extract or oil need to be conducted so that additional information is generated which can support the use of this natural product as a nutraceutical.