Analysis of Volatile Compounds of Origanum vulgare L. Growing Wild in Kosovo

Abstract

The chemical composition of the essential oil of wild Origanum vulgare L. was analyzed. Twelve samples of this plant species were collected from different locations in Kosovo. Essential oil of the Origanum vulgare L. was extracted by water distillation method and it was further analyzed by gas chromato- graphy-mass spectrometry. The yields of essential oil varied from 0.41 to 0.82 % of dried weight. Main identified compounds were sesquiterpenes (6.1 to 37.06 %), monoterpenes (1.73 to 35.18 %), oxygenated monoterpenes (6.88 to 36.06 %), and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (2.49 to 43.44 %) with main sabinene (1.81-12.34 %), 1,8-cineole (1.31-13.54 %), caryophyllene oxide (0.18-38.05 %), (E)-β-caryophyllene (0.48-14.0%), p-cymene (1.27-19.62 %), α-terpineol (1.05-19.23 %), and germacrene D (0.35-16.09 %) as the main constituents. The chemical profile of O. vulgare L. growing wild in Kosovo analyzed in our study resulted with a quantitative variation of the constituents.