ARS | Publication request: SEASONAL VARIATION OF THYMUS HYEMALIS LANGE AND SPANISH THYMUS VULGARIS L. ESSENTIAL OILS COMPOSITION

Submitted to: Industrial Crops and Products
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: June 20, 2006
Publication Date: December 1, 2006
Citation: Jordan, M.J., Martinez, R.M., Goodner, K.L., Baldwin, E.A., Sotomayor, J.A. 2006. Seasonal variation of thymus hyemalis lange and spanish thymus vulgaris l. essential oils composition. Industrial Crops and Products. 24:253-263.

Interpretive Summary: Two species of thyme (Thymus hyemalis and Thymus vulgaris) vary greatly with regards to chemical composition. Shrubs were harvested at five different maturation stages during the plant vegetative cycle. Analyses were conducted on each maturation stage to determine essential oil composition in each species and at each maturation stage. This technique identified 99 and 98 components in T. hyemalis and T. vulgaris essential oils, respectively. There were changes in the composition of the essential oil during the maturation process, which could be useful to processors wishing to maximize the content of specific chemical compounds.

Technical Abstract: Thymus hyemalis L. and Spanish Thymus vulgaris L. shrubs are characterized by a large chemical intraspecific variability among the plants. This fact makes it difficult to detect real changes occurring in their essential oil composition during the vegetative cycle. Based on this, the clones of T. hyemalis and Spanish T. vulgaris were used in this present work to monitor seasonal variations in the composition of the essential oil. Shrubs were harvested at five different phenological stages during the vegetative cycle. The volatile profile of the essential oil samples was determined by capillary GC/MS analyses. This technique identified 99 and 98 components in T. hyemalis and T. vulgaris essential oils, respectively.