Composition of the Essential Oils of the Leaves and Flowers of Thymus pallescens de Noé and Origanum floribundum Munby From Algeria

Abstract

The essential oils of Thymus pallescens de Noé and Origanum floribundum Munby leaves and flowers were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The oil yields of T. pallescens were 2.8% for the leaves and 3.7% for the flowers, while those of O. floribundum were 2.0% for the leaves and 5.4% for the inflorescences. The major constituents of both the leaves and flowers of T. pallescens were p-cymene (17.4% and 9.2%), γ-terpinene (10.6% and 14.1%) and carvacrol (39.0% and 48.3%), respectively, while those of O. floribundum were p-cymene (22.3% and 9.6%), γ-terpinene (17.3% and 24.3%) and thymol (34.4% and 41.2%), respectively. For the both plants p-cymene and sesquiterpenes were essentially concentrated in leaves.

Key Word Index:

• Thymus pallescens
• Origanum floribundum
• Lamiaceae
• essential oil composition
• carvacrol
• p-cymene
• γ-terpinene