Chemical Composition of Essential Oils Isolated from Aerial Parts of Some Wild Herbs Growing in Arid Regions of Egypt

Abstract

Essential oils are affected by botanical origins which can induce variations in their chemical components and biological activities. Therefore, discovering the same plants from many regions leads to an increase and diversification of essential oil sources as one of the natural products that are used for many purposes. Four wild Lamiaceae plants (sage, micromeria, marrubium and thyme) were collected from arid regions in Egypt and their essential oils were evaluated. Essential oil contents of sage, micromeria, marrubium and thyme recorded the values of 0.5, 0.1, 0.1 and 1.7 %, respectively. The major components of sage essential oil are germacrene-B, geranyl linalool, 2, 6, 8-eudesmatriene, β-elemene, germacrene-D, α-guaiene, graniol, aromadendrene, β-cadinene and δ-cadinene. Caryophyllene oxide, α-bisabolol, humulene epoxide III, patchulane and Z-α-trans-bergamotol were the main components of micromeria essential oil. The major constituents of marrubium essential oil are thymol, myristicin, 1-undecene, isomenthol, E-phytol, germacrene-D and bornyl acetate. Thymol was the main component of thyme essential oil. Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated sesquiterpenes were the major chemical group of sage and micromeria essential oils, respectively; whereas, oxygenated monoterpenes were the main group of marrubium and thyme essential oils. This study concludes that sage, micromeria, marrubium and thyme plants growing in arid regions are new sources of essential oils.