Ten different plants of wormwood were collected in March 1997 from each one of the following four wild populations in the Spanish Pyrenees: Tallo de Aulet (prov. Huesca) and Pont de Suert, Sort and Farga de Moles (prov. Lleida). In three of the four populations studied, there was another chemotype, with 25-65% of cis-epoxyocimene and 15-50% of chrysanthenyl acetate. This chemotype, called chemotype B, was less frequent in the Pyrenees than the chemotype A, appearing only in 17% of the samples (two samples in TallO de Aulet and in Pont de Suert and three samples in Farga de Moles).

Two chemotypes were detected; a cis-epoxyocimene type (with more than 50% of this compound) which was predominant in all the populations, and a cis-epoxyocimene + chrysanthenyl acetate type (with 25-65% of cis-epoxyocimene and 15-50% of chrysanthenyl acetate). The distribution of these chemotypes had no relation with the altitude of the samples.

Populations of A. annua cultivar 'Jeevanraksha' and accession Suraksha were grown in the experimental field plot of the Institute at New Delhi. The seeds were sown in January 2004, seedlings transplanted in late February 2004 and aerial parts (flowers, leaves and stems from the upper 0.5 m of crop canopy) sampled in late October 2004.

Ninety-seven compounds comprising 91.3% of the total oil of 'Jeevanraksha' were identified. Forty-three monoterpenes (56.6%), 32 sesquiterpenes (31.1%), and 2 diterpenes (0.2%) comprised bulk of the oil (87.9%). The oil was devoid of artemisia ketone and contained camphor (13.5%), 1,8-cineole (9.4%), trans-sabinol (7.1%), p-mentha-1(7), 5-dien-2-ol (6.3%), myrcene (4.7%), germacrene D (4.4%), (E)-beta-farnesene (3.9%), beta-caryophyllene (3.7%), dihydroartemisinic lactone (3.0%) and p-cymene (2.0%) as the major constituents. Eighty-six compounds representing 93.3% of the composition were identified in the Suraksha oil. This oil contained artemisia ketone (47%), 1,8-cineole (8.4%), camphor (5.9%) and alpha-pinene (5.2%) as the major components.

Plant material of A. verlotiorum was harvested near Marseille (France) in May (before blooming) and November (full flowering) 2000.

For the oil from the vegetative plants, 50 compounds, representing 99.8% of the oil were characterized. Fifty-nine compounds, representing 99.6% of the oil were identified in the oil from flowering plants. In both cases, the constituents were mainly oxygenated monoterpenes (74% and 88%). The composition of each oil showed only a few differences, as the main components were alpha-thujone (55% and 44%), 1,8-cineole (5% and 15%), beta-caryophyllene (13% and 7%) and beta-thujone (5% and 11%), in the oils of the vegetative plant and flowering plant, respectively. The proportions of the oxygenated compounds seemed to increase during flowering.

The experiments were performed in the experimental field of the Tropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (Danzhou, Hainan, China; localization 19.52° N, 10⁹.50° E; altitude 118 m; annual average precipitation 1815 mm; annual average temperature 23.5 ℃ ;the soil characteristics are : "Organic matter (g/kg) 11.37;pH 4.94;N (g/kg) 0.51;P (mg/kg) 25.33;K (mg/kg) 33.89). The experimental B. balsamifera plants were one-year old, and were propagated by the seeds collected from B. balsamifera planted in the experimental field of the Tropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences. They were planted with a planting spacing of 80 cm × 80 cm. On the 20th day of each month (from September 2014 to December 2014, which is the traditional harvest time), 30 one-year old B. balsamifera plants were randomly collected. Their young leaves (leaves on young shoots), mature leaves (leaves which are mature but without yellow spots), senescent leaves (leaves with yellow spots and those with dark brown leaf tips), dead leaves (leaves that have turned dark brown), young shoots (stems from buds to 10-20 cm part without woody parts), and young stems (green stems and not completely woody) were collected. These samples were divided into three parts (replicates), dried under shade, and ground to a fine powder (20-mesh sieve), packed in zip-lock bags, and stored in the refrigerator (4 ℃ ) for oil extraction.

Time of growth and type of B. balsamifera plant organs influence the production of oil, its composition, and antioxidant activity. The essential oil level in the young leaves was the highest, followed by mature leaves and senescent leaves, and the oil content was higher in October. A total of 44 compounds were identified. In the essential oils of leaves, the main ingredient is l-borneol, and the content was the highest in senescent leaves and in December. Variations in oil yields did not show the same pattern as the percentages of l-borneol in the essential oil. In the essential oils of young shoots and young stems, the main composition was dimethoxydurene. Therefore, the time of harvest and type of plant organs should be distinguished based on the different harvesting purposes. To extract the volatile oil, the aboveground parts except stems in October should be chosen for harvest. To get a high content of l-borneol in volatile oil, it is more appropriate to select the leaves in December. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using DPPH and BCB assays in this study, and the results proved that the essential oils of B. balsamifera showed a certain antioxidant activity, and the beta-carotene bleaching activity is far stronger than the DPPH radical-scavenging capacity. The young leaves and young shoots showed stronger antioxidant activity due to the high content of dimethoxydurene, beta-caryophyllene, and alpha-caryophyllene.

The aerial parts of D. assadii Alava. were collected in the wild from Lalehzar (Kerman Province, in southern Iran) at the flowering stage, in July 2007. The material was dried at room temperature and used for distillation. Distillation: A direct-fired field distillation unit containing a distillation tank (capacity: 1,000 L), a condensation column and receiver, all made of stainless steel, and which can process 30-50 kg of dried aerial parts from the plants/batch, was installed at an altitude of 2600 m (boiling point: 87 ℃). Dried aerial parts from the plants (40 kg) were charged into the distillation unit along with 500 L fresh water and the unit was heated by steam. The system was kept open to atmospheric pressure until the temperature reached to 70 ℃, when the air present in the unit was replaced by the vapor. After complete removal of air from the unit, the air vent was closed and the whole unit was operated as a closed system under pressure to distill the oil. The pressure, temperature and rate of distillation were controlled manually. The process was completed after the collection of 500 L of water distillate. The oil collected in the receiver and dried over anhydrous Na₂SO₄. Extraction of Ducrosia Second Oil From Ducrosia Water by Redistillation: The seprated distillate water collected in the receiver was redistilled in a 1,000 L still to yield more Doucrosia oil (this oil is known as secondary essential oil, second oil, cooked oil or indirect oil).

Fifty components were identified in a second oil of D. assadii from Lalehzar with decanal (35.2%), nonadecane (12%) and citronellyl acetate (11.6%) as the main constituents. The oil from Dehbakrii also contained decanal (36.4%) as the main component of an oil recovered from the distillate water. The results showed that the amount of decanal is remarkably high in the oils of D. assadii.

Elsholtzfa cilkata (Thunb.) Hyland grows wild in the Himalayas from Kashmir to Sikkim at 3000-3600 m. The herb was collected from two different locations in North Sikkim; one sample was collected from La Chung Valley and the second sample from Chung Thang region.

Two oils of E. ciliate were found to possess different compositions. One oil contained rosefuran (84.8%) as the major constituent, whereas the other oil was rich in dehydroelsholtzia ketone (65.2%). In contrast, the samples collected from Chung Than Valley appeared to be a chemotype rich in dehydroelsholtzia ketone (65.2%) and elsholtzia ketone (7.6%).

Plant material: Samples of L. latifolia were collected in August 1998 during the full flowering period (L/La) and in October 1998 during the fruiting period (L/Lb) from three different spike lavender populations located into the Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park (Jaen province, Spain). The plant material from each population consisted of the twigs of several single plants. L/La (Location: 'Garganta de Hornos', Altitude (m): 950, Harvesting date: August 14, 1998, Phenological stage: Flowering); L/Lb (Location: 'Garganta de Hornos', Altitude (m): 950, Harvesting date: October 15, 1998, Phenological stage: Fruiting).

The small amounts of linalool needed to match the standard can be reached in a natural way (from full flowering to fruiting) which means it is important to choose the most convenient time of harvest in the studied area.

Mentha rotundifolia leaves were collected in the second week of November 2004 in two localities of Algeria (Rouina: altitude 250 m, Miliana: altitude 780 m) within the region of Ain-Defla located in northern Algeria.

Thirty-nine compounds were identified in leaf oil of sample 1 (Rouina, Algeria), the main one being cis-piperitone oxide. Thirty-nine compounds were identified in leaf oil of sample 2 (Miliana, Algeria). The main one being piperitenone oxide.

Plant material: Leaves of M. spicata plants were collected from a wild population of Mt. Pangeon (alt. 600 m, 40° 55′ N/ 24° 12′ E). Collections were conducted every month during the growing period (April to October).

The oil content ranged from 0.1-1.8%, with the maximum values in late summer/early autumn. The essential oil obtained from the leaves was characterized by a very high content in linalool, i.e. 85.0-93.9% of the total oil (highest percentage in mid-autumn). Other oil constituents occurring in much lower amounts were germacrene D (up to 4.2%), beta-caryophyllene (up to 2.6%) and 1,8-cineole (up to 2.1%).

The 36 'Genovese' and 24 'Foglia di Lattuga' samples preliminarily analysed were grown in Tavazzano (MI), and harvested at flowering, from 5th to 10th August 1998. The breeding program started in 1999, by crossing several selected lines of 'Genovese' with 'Foglia di Lattuga' and 'Compatto'. Selected F1 plants were selfpollinated in 2000. Plants of the F2 (2001), F3 (2002) and F4 (2003) generations were selected on the basis of agronomic and morphologic traits, and self-pollinated. Only the seeds from self pollinated plants with satisfactory essential oil content and composition were used to obtain the next generation. In 2004, some F4 plants were replanted in order to evaluate their stability in relation to environmental variations. All leaf harvests were carried out at flowering.

Genovese' showed higher essential oil and linalool content, with almost total absence of methyl chavicol, very abundant in 'Foglia di Lattuga'.

The study was conducted in North-Central Anatolia under semi arid conditions. Seeds of 18 basil landraces (O. basilicum L.) were collected from local farms and home gardens in Turkey. To examine essential oil composition of the basil landraces without environmental influences, the plants were grown under identical (same environmental and soil conditions) conditions. Seeds were sown on a medium (1:1:1 washed sand, horse manure and field soil) in greenhouse conditions on March 25, 2003. Seedlings were grown until the 3-5 leaf stage. The seedlings were transplanted into pilots in the Gaziosmanpasxa University Experimental Research Station on May 15, 2003. The plants were harvested at the full blooming stage and dried at 35 ℃ for essential oil isolation.

Variation of essential oils in the landraces was subjected to cluster analysis, and seven different chemotypes were identified. They were (1) linalool, (2) methyl cinnamate, (3) methyl cinnamate/linalool, (4) methyl eugenol, (5) citral, (6) methyl chavicol (estragol), and (7) methyl chavicol/citral. Methyl chavicol with high citral contents (methyl chavicol/citral) can be considered as a 'new chemotype' in the Turkish basils.

Samples of R. officinalis were collected in April 1998 during the full flowering period (Ro-1a), between June and July 1998 during the fruiting period (Ro-1b) and in December 1998 during the hibernation period (Ro-1c) from Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park (province of Jaen, Spain). The plant material consisted of ca. 10 twigs per plant (with blossoming tips or not, depending of the harvesting date) from 5-10 single plants. Ro-1a (Location: Las Chozuelas, Altitude (m): 1150, Harvesting date: April 21, 1998, Phenological stage: Flowering); Ro-1b (Location: Las Chozuelas, Altitude (m): 1150, Harvesting date: June 19, 1998, Phenological stage: Fruiting); Ro-1c (Location: Las Chozuelas, Altitude (m): 1150, Harvesting date: December 30, 1998, Phenological stage: Hibernation).

The highest oil yields (161.8%) were recorded during the fruiting period (summer). In general, minimum amounts of camphor and maximum amounts of alpha-pinene were observed in winter. The concentration of 1,8-cineole was almost constant throughout the year, though other oil constituent levels varied randomly with the plant life cycle

S. aucheri var. aucheri was collected in Karaman: Ermenek to Mutt Road on July 19,1995; Salvia aucheri var. canescens was collected in Karaman: Ermenek, Tekecati Valley on July 19,1995.

Eighty components were characterized in the Salvia aucheri var. aucheri oil, with camphor (21.1%), 1, 8-cineole (20.3%), borneol (7.8%), spathulenol (6.3%) and camphene (5.3%) as major constituents. 1, 8-Cineole (25.2%), camphor (17.9%), borneol (10.6%), alpha-pinene (5.4%) and camphene (5.3%) were identified as major constituents among the 88 components characterized in the oil of Salvia aucheri var. canescens.

Aerial parts of both varieties(Salvia euphratica Montbret et Aucher ex Benth. var. euphratica and Salvia euphratica Montbret et Aucher ex Benth. var. leiocalycina) were collected in Malatya, Turkey in June 1999.

Ninety-five compounds in var. euphratica and 94 compounds in var. leiocalycina were characterized representing 93% and 95% of the total components detected, respectively, with 1,8-cineole (13.8% and 15.2%) and myrtenyl acetate (15.9% and 13.9%) as main constituents.

200 g of fresh flowering spikes were collected randomly at full bloom stage (browning of lower floret stage) from the 2006-2007 crops of clary sage cultivar CIM-Chandni cultivated at CIMAP Lucknow and resource center Purara, Uttarakhand. The oil of Kashmir origin was collected from the Chemistry division of IIIM Jammu.

Linalool (23.6%), alpha-terpineol (3.8%), linalyl acetate (51.2%), beta-caryophyllene (3.2%), germacrene D (1.3%) and sclareol (1.3%) were recorded in the oil S. sclarea cultivated in Lucknow UP while the Kashmir oil sample possessed the highest percentage of linalyl acetate (60.8%) and lowest linalool (14.5%) along with alpha-terpineol (1.8%), geranyl acetate (2.2%), beta-caryophyllene (1.9%), germacrene D (2.6%) and sclareol (1.3%) as the other minor constituents. In contrast, the oil of S. sclarea from Purara in Uttarakhand showed highest percentage of linalool (29.8%), alpha-terpineol (5.3%) and sclareol (2.3%) and the lowest linalyl acetate (45.7%) among all the three samples.

Satureja cuneifolia Ten. growing wild in Middle Anatolian provinces of Turkey were collected at various growth stages: a =from Konya, collected in June, before flowering; b = from Konya, collected in July, from flowering plants; c =from Konya, collected in August, full-bloom plants.

In the oils of S. cuneifolia, 38 compounds were identified, with thymol (43.6-65.5%), carvacrol (4.7-31.2%), gamma-terpinene (trace-13.7%) and p-cymene (trace-11.5%) being dominant.

The plant material was collected from different regions of Turkey. B = Canakkale: Gokceada, Ulukaya hill, August 1995; C = Canakkale: Gokceada, Doruktepe hill, August 1995; D = Canakkale: Gokceada, Kekliktepe hill, August 1995.

Carvacrol (52-56%) was found as the major component of these oils.

Fresh plant materials were obtained in 2004 and 2005. S. thymbra 1(vegetative stage: just before flowering, date: June 7, 2004, location: Mt. Immitos, altitude(m): 350); S. thymbra 2(vegetative stage: full flowering, date: July 7, 2004, location: Mt. Immitos, altitude(m): 350); S. thymbra 3(vegetative stage: after flowering, date: Aug 7, 2004, location: Mt. Immitos, altitude(m): 350); S. thymbra 4(vegetative stage: fruiting, date: Sept 7, 2004, location: Mt. Immitos, altitude(m): 350); S. thymbra 5(vegetative stage: fruiting, date: Nov 7, 2004, location: Mt. Immitos, altitude(m): 350); S. thymbra 6(vegetative stage: fruiting, date: Feb 7, 2005, location: Mt. Immitos, altitude(m): 350); S. thymbra 7(vegetative stage: before flowering, date: May 7, 2005, location: Mt. Immitos, altitude(m): 350); S. parnassica 8(vegetative stage: before flowering, date: June 16, 2004, location: Mt. Parnon, altitude(m): 1800); S. parnassica 9(vegetative stage: just before flowering, date: July 16, 2004, location: Mt. Parnon, altitude(m): 1800); S. parnassica 10(vegetative stage: full flowering, date: Aug 16, 2004, location: Mt. Parnon, altitude(m): 1800); S. parnassica 11(vegetative stage: after flowering, date: Sept 16, 2004, location: Mt. Parnon, altitude(m): 1800).

It is evident that the phytochemical content of the essential oils for both Satureja species varied greatly, depending on the period examined, and showed large prevalence of phenolic content. It must also be pointed out that regardless of the vegetative stage of the plant collected, the sum of the two isomeric phenol monoterpenes (carvacrol and thymol) and their biosynthetic monoterpene precursors p-cymene and gamma-terpinene represented always the bulk of each essential oil (~76%). More specificallysfor both species-during their premature vegetative stage, gamma-terpinene constitutes the major component of their essential oils. The approach of the flowering period results in the simultaneous gradual diminishment of monoterpene precursors and the prevalence of their phenolic metabolites. Thus, essential oils obtained from plants collected during the 'just before their flowering' stage contain thymol as their major component, which constitutes 27.88 and 38.51% of the total oil content for S. thymbra and S. parnassica, respectively. On the other hand, during their full flowering period carvacrol prevails as the major component, accounting for 39.10% for S. thymbra and for 34.61% for S. parnassica. The end of the flowering stage delineates a sharp decrease of carvacrol levels and the predominance of thymol as the major component of the essential oils. A few months later, as the premature vegetative stage approached, the level of gamma-terpinene was restored. The content of p-cymenesthe other major monoterpene precursor-fluctuated seasonally in a manner similar to that shown by gamma-terpinene. Other monoterpene hydrocarbons such as myrcene and alpha-terpinene were also detected in smaller quantities, whereas various monoterpene alcohols such as linalool, borneol, and terpin-4-ol were found mainly in the oils obtained after the flowering stage. Finally, it is notable that the oils obtained during the just before the full flowering period contain beta-caryophyllene as one of their major components.

Fresh plant materials were obtained in 2004 and 2005. S. thymbra 1(vegetative stage: just before flowering, date: June 7, 2004, location: Mt. Immitos, altitude(m): 350); S. thymbra 2(vegetative stage: full flowering, date: July 7, 2004, location: Mt. Immitos, altitude(m): 350); S. thymbra 3(vegetative stage: after flowering, date: Aug 7, 2004, location: Mt. Immitos, altitude(m): 350); S. thymbra 4(vegetative stage: fruiting, date: Sept 7, 2004, location: Mt. Immitos, altitude(m): 350); S. thymbra 5(vegetative stage: fruiting, date: Nov 7, 2004, location: Mt. Immitos, altitude(m): 350); S. thymbra 6(vegetative stage: fruiting, date: Feb 7, 2005, location: Mt. Immitos, altitude(m): 350); S. thymbra 7(vegetative stage: before flowering, date: May 7, 2005, location: Mt. Immitos, altitude(m): 350); S. parnassica 8(vegetative stage: before flowering, date: June 16, 2004, location: Mt. Parnon, altitude(m): 1800); S. parnassica 9(vegetative stage: just before flowering, date: July 16, 2004, location: Mt. Parnon, altitude(m): 1800); S. parnassica 10(vegetative stage: full flowering, date: Aug 16, 2004, location: Mt. Parnon, altitude(m): 1800); S. parnassica 11(vegetative stage: after flowering, date: Sept 16, 2004, location: Mt. Parnon, altitude(m): 1800).

It is evident that the phytochemical content of the essential oils for both Satureja species varied greatly, depending on the period examined, and showed large prevalence of phenolic content. It must also be pointed out that regardless of the vegetative stage of the plant collected, the sum of the two isomeric phenol monoterpenes (carvacrol and thymol) and their biosynthetic monoterpene precursors p-cymene and gamma-terpinene represented always the bulk of each essential oil (~76%). More specificallysfor both species-during their premature vegetative stage, gamma-terpinene constitutes the major component of their essential oils. The approach of the flowering period results in the simultaneous gradual diminishment of monoterpene precursors and the prevalence of their phenolic metabolites. Thus, essential oils obtained from plants collected during the 'just before their flowering' stage contain thymol as their major component, which constitutes 27.88 and 38.51% of the total oil content for S. thymbra and S. parnassica, respectively. On the other hand, during their full flowering period carvacrol prevails as the major component, accounting for 39.10% for S. thymbra and for 34.61% for S. parnassica. The end of the flowering stage delineates a sharp decrease of carvacrol levels and the predominance of thymol as the major component of the essential oils. A few months later, as the premature vegetative stage approached, the level of gamma-terpinene was restored. The content of p-cymenesthe other major monoterpene precursor-fluctuated seasonally in a manner similar to that shown by gamma-terpinene. Other monoterpene hydrocarbons such as myrcene and alpha-terpinene were also detected in smaller quantities, whereas various monoterpene alcohols such as linalool, borneol, and terpin-4-ol were found mainly in the oils obtained after the flowering stage. Finally, it is notable that the oils obtained during the just before the full flowering period contain beta-caryophyllene as one of their major components.

Plant materials were collected from the following localities. A: Antalya: Alanya, Sapadere, Beldibi-Baskoy in July 1991 (ESSE 9562). B: Icel: Anamur, Kas yaylasi in July 1991 (ESSE 9192).

Thirty-nine components were characterized in each oil representing 85-90% of the total components detected with beta-pinene (34-35%) and alpha-pinene (24-25%) as major constituents.

Plant material and isolation procedure: Aerial parts of the plant were collected from two regions, from Kazeroon in southern Iran and Shahr-e-kord in western Iran at the time of flowering in June 2002.

The main components of the oil of S. pilifera collected from Kazeroon, in southern Iran, were spathulenol (15.8%), cis-chrysanthenol (15.3%), beta-caryophyllene (8.4%) and cis-chrysanthenyl acetate (6.9%), while for the plant collected from Shahr-e-kord, in western Iran, they were cis-chrysanthenyl acetate (21.8%), linalool (18.9%), terpinen-4-ol (11.9%) and cis-chrysanthenol (9.2%).

The aerial parts of T. chamaedrys were collected at the flowering stage in June 2004 near Corti, Corsica, France and near Oristano, Sardinia, Italy

The Corsican and Sardinian oils of T. chamaedrys investigated in this study were qualitatively similar but they differed by the amount of their major components. The major components were beta-caryophyllene (29.0% and 27.4%, respectively) and germacrene D (19.4% and 13.5%, respectively), followed by alpha-humulene (6.8%) and delta-cadinene (5.4%) in the Corsican oil and by caryophyllene oxide (12.3%) and alpha-humulene (6.5%) in the Sardinian oil. These quantitative differences are also noticeable on the amounts of the different class compounds. Especially, the monoterpene hydrocarbons amounted for 10.3% and 4.1% in Sardinian and Corsican oils respectively and the oxygenated sesquiterpenes amounted for 18.9% and only 7.4% in both oils, respectively. Both oils were qualitatively rather similar in comparison with those reported in the literature from various geographic regions. However, among the 87 components identified in this study, 47 minor components (< 0.6%) reported were identified for the first time in T. chamaedrys oil. This study confirms the quantitative variability of the major components according to the plant origin.

The aerial parts of samples from collective populations of T. carnosus were collected during the vegetative phase (February 2000), at the beginning of the flowering phase (May 2000) and during the flowering phase (July 2000) at Quinta do Lago (Algarve). AQLM: collected in May, beginning of flowering phase; AQLJ: collected in July, flowering stage; AQLF: collected in Feb, vegetative stage.

All the oil samples collected in Quinta do Lago (QL) were dominated by borneol (26-31%) and camphene (9-18%), but the third main component varied according to the harvesting period. Bornyl acetate was the third main component (9-13%) in the flower oil and in the aerial parts oils collected in May and July, whereas terpinen-4-ol (8%) was the third main component in oil collected in February from vegetative phase plant material. A fourth main component, alpha-pinene (4-9%), was also present in relative high amounts in the QL oils.

Aerial parts of T. fontanesii were collected during June 2004, in full blossom, in the Province of Tlemcen in four locations: Sidi-snoussi, Remchi, Sebdou et Sebaa-chiouki and again, during June 2005, in the last location.

The yield of oil obtained from the aerial parts of Thymus fontanesii harvested in the Province of Tlemcen (Algeria), calculated on dry material basis,varied slightly from station to station: Sebaa-chiouki = 5.20%, Sebdou = 5.25%, Sidisnoussi = 5.32%, Remchi = 5.46%. The composition of the four samples was quite similar, carvacrol (66.7-69.5%) being by far the main component. Other constituents, present at appreciable contents, were p-cymene (6.1-9.1%), gamma-terpinene (6.0-9.6%), linalool (3.0-4.0%), alpha-pinene (2.5-3.0%), myrcene (1.2-1.5%), and alpha-terpinene (1.1-1.4%). Conversely, thymol accounted only for 0.6-0.7% of the composition. Moreover, a sample harvested at Sebaa-chiouki, in June 2005, produced on oil with the same composition (68.3% of carvacrol). Obviously, aerial parts of T. fontanesii from the province of Tlemcen produced an oil whose composition differed substantially from that of the oil obtained from the same species harvested in Setif province and Constantine area (Algeria), dominated by thymol (67.8% and 68.2%, respectively).

Herbal parts were collected from A = Eskisehir: Suluagac village in Turkey, altitude 1100 m, in July 1990 and B = Corum: Osmancik, Berk village in Turkey, altitude 580-600 m, on 22 June 1993.

One chemotype (Suluagac village, Eskisehir, Turkey) contained carvacrol (21.59%), p-cymene (17.80%) and thymol (14.10%); and the other chemotype (Berk village, Corum, Turkey) contained alpha-terpinyl acetate (23.80%), borneol (12.85%), linalool (13.67%) and thymol (11.31%) as major constituents.

Fresh plant materials were obtained on 2002. Collection Data: Thymus longicaulis, abbreviation: TLK, vegetative stage: in fruiting, date: 03/06/02, location: Mt. Kitheron, continental Greece, altitude (m): 600; Thymus longicaulis, abbreviation: TLP, vegetative stage: full flowering, date: 17/06/02, location: Mt. Parnon, Peloponnesus, altitude (m): 1650.

T. longicaulis specimens, obtained fromvaried stations, showed large prevalent phenolic contents. The sample of TLK was exceptionally poor in phenolic monoterpenes (35.83%) and the essential oil of OVH was perticularly rich in carvacrol (88.71%).

Plant materials were collected from the following localities in north western Turkey. A = Trabzon: Caykara, Soganli dag on July 28, 1994; B = Bayburt: Caykara, Mohakambo yaylasi on July 25, 1994; C = Trabzon: Koprubasi, Vizara yaylasi on July 20, 1994.

One hundred and four compounds were identified representing 97.5-99.5% of the total components detected in thymol/carvacrol (50.14/10.67%), thymol/linalool (23.14/20.24%) and linalool/alpha-terpinyl acetate/geraniol (21.55/16.70/11.17%) rich oils.

Aerial parts of the plant were collected from four localities: A = Kirklareli: Karadere in May 1991; B = Kirklareli: Karahamza Village in May 1990; C = Kirklareli: Evciler Village on 13 June 1993; D = Kirklareli: Korukoy on 25 May 1994

The four oils obtained from plants collected in different localities of the same region gave quite different compositions as follows: A: thymol (10.5%), 1,8-cineole (9.96%), p-cymene (9.48%), carvacrol (5.28%); B: beta-caryophyllene (29.50%), carvacrol(20.59%); C: thymol (34.7%), beta-caryophyllene (12.74%), carvacrol (5.24%); D: beta-caryophyllene (56.48%), germacrene D (11.12%), carvacrol (4.85%). Since the identities of the plant materials were checked repeatedly, any misidentification is ruled out. Except for A and C, all the other materials showed beta-caryophyllene as the major constituent. Carvacrol (20.59%) was present in good amount in the oil of B. In A, however, high percentages of 1,8-cineole (10%) and p-cymene (9.5%) were significant. This oil contained only a trace amount of beta-caryophyllene. Four isomeric caryophyllene alcohols were detected in the oil B. The results clearly indicate that the oil of T. striatus var. interruptus has no consistency and we can safely suggest that there are at least three chemotypes, namely thymol/1,8-cineole/p-cymene-type; thymol/beta-caryophyllene-type; and beta-caryophyllene-type, of this species.

The material was collected from plants cultivated at the Experimental Farm at the Institute of Biotechnology (Caxias do Sul - Rio Grande do Sul State) from November 1998 to July 1999.

Thymol was found to be the most abundant constituent (31.5-52.4%), followed by p-cymene (17.1-34.4%). Thyme possessed a higher oil yield and the oil was richer in oxygenated compounds when harvested in the spring.