Comparison of the chemical composition of essential oils isolated from two thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) cultivars

Abstract

the studies conducted in 2016-2017, the chemical composition of the essential oils isolated from the herb of two thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) cultivars was investigated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The GC-MS analyses of the volatile oils of T. vulgaris L. cv. 'English Winter' and cv. 'Summer Thyme de Provence' led to the identification of 80 and 73 constituents, respectively. The main components found in the oil of 'English Winter' cultivar were thymol (44.97 and 38.06% in 2016 and 2017, respectively), p-cymene (7.61 and 10.34%), γ-terpinene (7.08 and 6.66%) and carvacrol (5.11 and 8.27%). Similarly, thymol (36.82 and 37.32%), p-cymene (15.73 and 11.20%), γ-terpinene (5.34 and 11.09%) and carvacrol (6.50 and 5.35%) dominated in the essential oil of 'Summer Thyme de Provence' cultivar. However, the higher content of thymol was noted for cultivar 'English Winter', while cultivar 'Summer Thyme de Provence' was richer in p-cymene.