The chemical composition, antioxidant, antibacterial and cholinesterase inhibitory activities of three Juniperus species were studied. The contents of total phenolic and 10 phenolic compounds were highest in Juniperus rigida Sieb.et Zucc., of which catechin and cumaric acid were the predominant phenolic compounds, but were lowest in Juniperus sibirica Burgsd. GC-MS analysis showed the highest contents of essential oils were in J. rigida (92.61%), followed by Juniperus formosana Hayata (87.30%) and J. sibirica (84.89%). The a-pinene was the most dominant compound in J. rigida (23.99%) and J. formosana (9.71%), however, it has not been detected in J. sibirica. Ethanol extracts showed the higher radical scavenging capacity in ABTS, FRAP and DPPH assays than essential oils. The essential oils and ethanol extracts of J.sibirica showed the strong antibacterial activity against Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli. Three Juniperus species showed certain acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitions and J. formosana showed better cholinesterase inhibitory.

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Needles of Juniperus rigida are used in Chinese traditional medicine for the treatment of brucellosis, dropsy, skin disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. This is the first study that reports anatomical structures of the J. rigida needles collected at different altitudes. The most common anatomical, phytochemical, and histochemical techniques and methods are used. The results show that anatomical structures and chemical composition change significantly at different altitudes. The main anatomical characters are significant xeromorphic structures (thick epidermis, hypodermis, and cuticle), a stomatal band, a developed vascular bundle, and a marginal resin duct. The xeromorphic structures become more pronounced with increasing altitude. The phytochemical and histochemical results demonstrate that the content of the main chemical compounds (phenols and terpenoids) basically increases at a higher elevation. Histochemical analysis localizes the phenols in epidermal cells, sponge tissue, endothelial layer cells, and stomatal bands, and the terpenoids in palisade tissue, sponge tissue, and the edge of the resin duct. This work reveals the relation between anatomy and chemistry in J. rigida needles, contributes to the quality control of its ethno-medicine, and provides the evidence to develop the commercial cultivation.

The data presented in this article afford insight into how high-quality origins were basically evaluated viewed from yields of essential oils and how GC-MS fingerprint constructed and analyzed as supplementary materials supporting the results displayed in the article of metabolite profiles of essential oils and SSR molecular markers in Juniperus rigida Sieb. et Zucc. from different regions: A potential source of raw materials for the perfume and healthy products Liu et al., 2019. The presented data demonstrate the supplementary instruction of the GC-MS fingerprint analysis results of Juniperus rigida from different origins Meng et al., 2016. The data of essential oils yields, similarities and correlation coefficients of GC-MS fingerprint and principal component analysis (PCA) supported the results of high-quality J. rigida provenance selection.