Cedar oil, also known as cedarwood oil, is an essential oil derived from various types of conifers, most in the pine or cypress botanical families. It is produced from the foliage, and sometimes the wood, roots, and stumps which have been left after cutting of trees for timber extraction. It has many uses in medicine, art, industry and perfumery, and while the characteristics of oils derived from various species may themselves vary, all have some degree of bactericidal and pesticidal effects.
Although termed cedar or cedarwood oils, the most important oils are produced from distilling wood of a number of different junipers and cypresses (of the family Cupressaceae), rather than true cedars (of the family Pinaceae). Similar oils are distilled, pressed or chemically extracted in small quantities from wood, roots, and leaves from plants of the genera Platycladus, Cupressus, Taiwania, and Calocedrus.
The cedarwood oil of the ancients, in particular the Sumerians and Egyptians, was derived from the Cedar of Lebanon, a true cedar native to the northern and western mountains of the Middle East. The once-mighty Cedar of Lebanon forests of antiquity have been almost entirely eradicated, and today no commercial oil extraction is based on this species. One of the elements found in many cedar trees is cedrol. Depending on the amount of cedrol in a specific species of cedar can determine its pesticidal effect on insects. Ancient Egyptians would use the oil from cedar trees in the embalming process, which in effect helped to keep the insects from disturbing the body.