Two new sesquiterpenes, (E)-(2S,3S,6R)-atlantone-2,3-diol (1) and (E)-(2S,3S,6S)-atlantone-2,3,6-triol (2), along with two known sesquiterpenes, atlantolone (3) and (E)-α-atlantone (4), were isolated from Cedrus deodara Loud. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated on the basis of UV, IR, NMR, HR-ESI-QTOF-MS, and EI mass spectral studies. The n-hexane and chloroform extracts of sawdust and compounds 3 and 4 from the plant exhibited antifungal activity against Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, A. ochracoeus, A. parasiticus, and A. sydowii. A weak activity was also recorded against A. parasiticus and A. sydowii for compound 1, while Trichophyton rubrum was inhibited by compound 2 and the extracts.

The essential oil and extract obtained from the wood chips of Cedrus deodara by hydrodistillation and percolation respectively have been analyzed by GC-FID and GC–MS techniques. Thirty four compounds were identified from the essential oil and twenty six from the extract accounting for 98.3 and 94.6% respectively of total identifications. While the major components of the oil were β-himachalene (38.3%), α-himachalene (17.1%) and γ-himachalene (12.6%), those of the extracts were E-γ-atlantone (38.5%) and E-α-atlantone (10.2%).