Hinokitiol
Encyclopedia
Hinokitiol is a natural monoterpenoid
Terpenoid
The terpenoids , sometimes called isoprenoids, are a large and diverse class of naturally occurring organic chemicals similar to terpenes, derived from five-carbon isoprene units assembled and modified in thousands of ways. Most are multicyclic structures that differ from one another not only in...

 found in the wood of trees in the family Cupressaceae
Cupressaceae
The Cupressaceae or cypress family is a conifer family with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27 to 30 genera , which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130-140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdioecious or dioecious trees and shrubs from 1-116 m tall...

. It is a tropolone
Tropolone
Tropolone is a derivative of tropone with a hydroxyl group in the 2-position.Two methods for the synthesis of tropolone are by bromination of 1,2-cycloheptanedione with N-bromosuccinimide followed by dehydrohalogenation at elevated temperatures and by acyloin condensation of the ethyl ester of...

 derivative and one of the thujaplicin
Thujaplicin
Thujaplicins are series of related chemical substances discovered in the 1930s and isolated from Thuja plicata . The three compounds are α-thujaplicin, β-thujaplicin , and γ-thujaplicin. They are known for potent anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties...

s. Hinokitiol has inhibitory effects on Chlamydia trachomatis
Chlamydia trachomatis
Chlamydia trachomatis, an obligate intracellular human pathogen, is one of three bacterial species in the genus Chlamydia. C. trachomatis is a Gram-negative bacteria, therefore its cell wall components retain the counter-stain safranin and appear pink under a light microscope.The inclusion bodies...

and may be clinically useful as a topical drug.. It can be readily extracted from Western red cedar (Thuja plicata) with solvent and ultrasonication.
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