Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil from the Aerial Parts of Satureja hortensis As a Potent Medical Plant Using Traditional Hydrodistillation

Abstract

The water-distilled essential oils, which were obtained from the fresh aerial parts of Satureja hortensiswere analyzed by means of GC and CC/MS instruments. The plant was collected during the flowering stage fromForoomad Mountains, Semnan Province, and heart of Iran. Twenty compounds were identified in the differentsamples analyzed, representing of the total oil contents. In terms of general categories, monoterpenehydrocarbons dominated the chemical profile of the oils with γ-terpinene ( ), carvacrol ( ), p-cymene( ), α-terpinene ( ), α-pinene ( ) and myrcene ( ) as the main constituent components. The otherconstituents were found to be α-thujene ( ), β-pinene ( ), sylvestrene ( ), α-phellandrene ( . ) and (-)-terpinen- -ol ( ).