Juniperus sabina L. (J. sabina) has been an important plant in traditional medicine since ancient times. Its needles are rich in podophyllotoxin, a precursor compound to anti-tumor drugs. However, no systematic research has been done on J. sabina as a source of podophyllotoxins or their biological action. Hence, extracts of podophyllotoxin and deoxypodophyllotoxin were the main optimization targets using the Box–Behnken design (BBD) and response surface methodology (RSM). The total phenol content and antioxidant activity of J. sabina needle extract were also optimized. Under the optimal process conditions (ratio of material to liquid (RLM) 1:40, 90% methanol, and ultrasonic time 7 min), the podophyllotoxin extraction rate was 7.51 mg/g DW, the highest level reported for Juniperus spp. distributed in China. To evaluate its biological potential, the neuroprotective acetyl- and butyrylcholinease (AChE and BChE) inhibitory abilities were tested. The needle extract exhibited significant anti-butyrylcholinesterase activity (520.15 mg GALE/g extract), which correlated well with the high levels of podophyllotoxin and deoxypodophyllotoxin. This study shows the potential medicinal value of J. sabina needles.

Sex-related differences on phenolic profiles, chemical composition of essential oils, anatomy, histochemistry and biological activities (antioxidant and antibacterial activities) of Juniperus rigida needles collected from Yijun and Fugu region were first studied. In two regions, female and male had similar contents of total phenolic and total flavonoid. 10 phenolic compounds were analyzed by RP-HPLC, amentoflavone content was significantly higher in female than male in Yijun, and chlorogenic acid content was significantly higher in female than male in Fugu. 30 compounds (over 0.5 %) were detected in the essential oils, and the total contents of female were lower than male in Yijun. This difference mainly comes from Germacrene D, which was about twice as high in male as in female. Male needles had significantly larger mechanical tissue and phloem in Yijun. Histochemical analysis indicated that the phenols were stored in epidermal cells, sponge tissue, endodermis cells, edge of resin duct, stomatal bands, and the flavonoids were stored in epidermal cells, endodermis cells, edge of resin duct, stomatal bands. No sex-related differences were found in histochemical analysis, antioxidant activities (ABTS, FRAP) and antibacterial activities (9 strains). This preliminary study provided a reference for production practice and theoretical research of J. rigida.