[11] Hinokitiol has also been found in other trees of the Cupressaceae family, including Thuja plicata Donn ex D. Don which is common in the Pacific Northwest.

[10] And the resistance of cypress trees to wood decay was the leading reason prompting to study their chemical content and to find the substances responsible for those properties.

[13] Hinokitiol has been found in the heartwood of the conifer trees of the Cupressaceae family, including Chamaecyparis obtusa (Hinoki cypress), Thuja plicata (Western red cedar), Thujopsis dolabrata var.

[14][15][16][17] Its concentration in the trees are 0.1-0.2% in Chamaecyparis taiwanensis (2 mg of hinokitiol per 1 g of dry sawdust), 0.04% in Juniperus cedrus and Thujopsis dolabrata var.

[21][22] Hinokitiol can also be isolated through plant cell suspension cultures,[23][24] or readily extracted from the wood with chemical solvents and ultrasonication.

It is shown that a synergistic effect in some biological activities and settings may occur when ionophores are combined with the ions they bind.

Hinokitiol and other thujaplicins have been mainly investigated in in-vitro studies and animal models for their possible biological properties, such as antimicrobial, antifungal, antiviral, antiproliferative, anti-inflammatory, antiplasmodial effects.

[32] In 2006, hinokitiol was categorized under the Domestic substances list (DSL) in Canada as non-persistent, non-bioaccumulative and non-toxic to aquatic organisms.

[4][5][36] In April 2020, Advance Nanotek, an Australian producer of zinc oxide, filed a joint patent application with AstiVita Limited, for an anti-viral composition that included oral care products.

[37] Hinokitiol is found to have insecticidal and pesticidal activities against crop-damaging termites (Reticulitermes speratus, Coptotermes formosanus) and beetles (Lasioderma serricorne, Callosobruchus chinensis).

[15][38][17] It has also shown to act against certain mites (Dermatophagoides farinae, Tyrophagus putrescentiae) and mosquito larvae (Aedes aegypti, Culex pipiens).

[19] In experimental studies hinokitiol has been shown to act against Botrytis cinerea, a necrotrophic fungus causing gray mold in many plant species and known to damage horticultural crops.

[13][42] These compounds give the wood natural resistance to decay and insect attacks due to their fungicidal, insecticidal and pesticidal activities.

[18] Researchers screening a library of small biomolecules for signs of iron transport found that hinokitiol restored cell functionality.