Analysis of the essential oil of Teucrium polium ssp. capitatum from the Balkan Peninsula

Abstract

The chemical composition of the essential oil of the aerial parts of Teucrium polium ssp. capitatum collected during the flowering period from rocky places and dry pastures, (Serbia, Niš, Kamenica), and dunes along the sea-side, (Bulgaria, Burgas, Primorsko) has been studied by GC and GC/MS. The identified compounds, 45 for the oil from Serbia and 44 for that from Bulgaria, amounted to 97.3% and 96.4% of the oils, respectively. The dominant constituents of the Serbian oil were sesquiterpenes {59.6%, the most abundant components being germacrene D (31.8%), trans-caryophyllene (8.8%) and bicyclogermacrene (6.2%)}, while monoterpenes accounted for 37.5% {the most abundant components being linalool (14.0%) and β-pinene (10.7%)}. The essential oil from Bulgaria was characterized by a high percentage of monoterpenes, amounting to 62.9% {the most abundant components being β-pinene (26.8%), α-pinene (9.3%) and limonene (6.4%)}, while sesquiterpenes accounted for 33.5% (the most abundant component was germacrene D 17.7%)}.