Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil of Aerial Parts of Satureja thymbra L. Growing Wild in Lebanon

摘要

Satureja thymbra L. is a well known aromatic plant; endemic of the Mediterranean region and characterized by an oregano-like smell. It is frequently used as a spice and herbal tea in the Lebanese traditional medicine. Air dried aerial parts from S. thymbra were collected in Lebanon at random during April 2009. For 3 h the plant material was submitted to steam distillation using a clevenger-type apparatus to produce the essential oil with a yield of 0.84% (w/w). Oil was dried using anhydrous magnesiumsulfate and stored at 4°C. S. thymbra oil was analyzed by GC/MS. Nineteen compounds representing 98.8% of the oil sample were identified. The major components of Satureja thymbra L. oil were y-terpinene (34.06%), carvacrol (23.07%) and thymol (18.82%).Also abundant were p-cymene (7.58%), caryophyllene (3.96%), a-terpinene (3.53%) and myrcene (1.70%). The results of our study were compared to reports on the same or different species from other origins.