Variation of concentrations of thymol and carvacrol in the essential oil of thymus satureoides during aging

The aim of this work is to do a stability study of two chemo-typical active ingredients (thymol and carvacrol) of the essential oil of thyme “Thymus satureoides” collected from Azilal Region, Morocco. Specimen identification was performed for the raw obtained plant materials and the essential oil extraction carried out through initial and final chemical characterization of the essential oil - at t = 0 - and - at t = 6 months. Results show that a significant decrease (13%) in the initial thymol concentration was recorded during the assumed duration of the stability study (6 months). Carvacrol recorded an even larger drop and was approaching 25%, during the same study period. Key words: Stability, concentration, essential oil, thymus satureoides, thymol, carvacrol.