Essential oil composition of four Origanum vulgare subspecies of Anatolian origin

Abstract

Essential oil composition of four subspecies of Origanum vulgare L. (Labiatae, Sect. Majorana); subsp. hirtum (Link) Ietswaart, subsp. gracile (C. Koch) Ietswaart, subsp. vulgare and subsp. viride (Boiss.) Hayek growing wild in Turkey have been examined by GC and GC/MS analysis. More than 80 constituents were identified in the oil samples of the four subspecies. O. vulgare subsp. hirtum was rich in carvacrol (70.47%), while subsp. gracile contained ß-caryophyllene (17.54%) and germacrene D (12.75%) as the dominant constituents. The major components of subsp. viride were terpinen-4-ol (16.82%) and germacrene D (15.87%), while subsp. vulgare was rich in terpinen-4-ol + ß-caryophyllene (20.94%) and germacrene D (17.80%)