Five Chemotypes of the Essential Oils of Thymus pulegioides L. Growing Wild in Lithuania

Abstract

Five chemotypes of Thymus pulegioides L. ssp pulegioides collected in 1995–1999 in Vilnius city according to their odours were identified. They were (1) citral-geraniol chemotype (lemon odour) containing cis and trans-citrals (neral + geranial, 18.4 – 30.2%), geraniol (14.4 – 23.2%), β-caryophyllene (9.4 – 13.1%) and nerol (5.5 – 12.1%); (2) geranial chemotype (“sweet” odour) geraniol (23.1- 25.5%) β-caryophyllene (10.8 – 13.5%), and β-bisabolene (9.5 – 10.2%), (3) caryophyllene chemotype (“spicy” odour) β-caryophyllene (18.0 – 19.7%), β-bisabolene (14.5 – 15.9%) germacrene D (12.5 – 14.6%) and (E)-nerolidol (8.2 – 13.8%): (4) γ-terpinene-p-cymene chemotype (“hydrocarbon” odour) γ-terpinene (15.5 – 17.2%), p-cymene (7.7- 17.0%), carvacrol (4.6 – 13.5%) and β-caryophyllene (9.6 – 10.5%) and (5) carvacrol chemotype (“phenolic” odour) containing carvacrol (24.4 – 33.3%), β-caryophyllene (9.5 – 14.9%) and β-bisabolene (10.5 – 12.9%). The caryophyllene and γ-terpinene - p-cymene chemotypes were not observed earlier in Thymus pulegioides L. species.