Paper Details
- Hiroaki Takemoto (Laboratory of Molecular Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University / School of Pharmacy at Narita, International University of Health and Welfare / takemoto-hiroaki-ko@ihwg.jp)
- Kiyomitsu Nemoto (Laboratory of Molecular Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University / Laboratory of Environmental Hygiene, Department of Environmental Science, School of Life and Environmental Science, Azabu University / Laboratory of Health Science, School of Pharmacy, Nihon University / Research Institute of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Nihon University / nemoto.kiyomitsu@nihon-u.ac.jp)
1) Laboratory of Molecular Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University , 2) School of Pharmacy at Narita, International University of Health and Welfare , 3) Laboratory of Environmental Hygiene, Department of Environmental Science, School of Life and Environmental Science, Azabu University , 4) Laboratory of Health Science, School of Pharmacy, Nihon University , 5) Research Institute of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Nihon University
Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) is an evergreen conifer endemic to Japan. The benefits of hinoki fragrance for the central nervous system have garnered increasing attention, and its inhalation is gaining popularity. While hinoki essential oils are available from various manufacturers, the growing regions of the trees and plant parts used for extraction differ among products, and the characteristic benefits of each product are not clearly defined. In this study, we performed gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and GC-MS analysis on ten commercial hinoki essential oils, one from leaf and nine derived from wood, to examine differences in volatile components between plant parts and among wood-derived samples. The results showed that sabinene, bornyl acetate and α-terpinyl acetate were the major components in leaf-derived oils, while α-pinene and δ-cadinene predominated in wood-derived oils. Among the wood-derived samples, the ratio of α-pinene to δ-cadinene was categorized into three distinct patterns: samples with higher α-pinene content, samples with higher δ-cadinene content, and samples in which both components were present in nearly equal amounts. Differences in chemical composition and the relative proportion of components may influence the physiological effects of hinoki essential oil. Evaluating how these variations affect health benefits could contribute to product quality assessment and help establish tailored applications for each specific chemical profile.

