Identification and Comparison of Essential Oil Components in Leaf and Stem of Garden Thyme Grown Under Greenhouse Conditions

Garden thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.), member of Lamiaceae family, is one of the important medicinal plant species. The plant is used in medicine, cosmetic and food industry. In this study thyme plants were grown in greenhouse. Hydrodistillation was used to isolate the essential oils and chemical analyses were performed by GC and GC-MS with three replications. The yield of the oils of leaves and stem were 1.5% and 0.03% respectively. Twenty six components in leaf and 18 components in stem essential oils of thyme were identified. The major components of leaf essential oils were thymol (56.9%), γ-terpinene (10.5%), p-cymene (8.2%), carvacrol (5.5%), linalool (3.3%) and β-caryophyllene (3.1%). Similarly the major components of stem essential oils were thymol (55.5%), borneol (10.4%), p-cymene (6.0%), carvacrol (4.6%), linalool (3.6%), caryophyllene oxide (2.2%), γ-terpinene (2.1%) and eicosane (1.8%).