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Abstract
The differences between the composition of essential oils isolated from seven wild marjoram (Origanum vulgare L. ssp. vulgare) samples, gathered from different regions and cultivated in Estonia were investigated. Steam distillation was used for oil isolation and capillary GC/FID and GC/MS for oil analyses. Forty-eight compounds were identified, representing over 95% of the total oils. Different compositions of essential oils cultivated in Estonia were found. The major compounds of the oils were linalool (0.3-20.6%), β-caryophyllene (1.3-45.0%), germacrene D (0.7-21.0%), caryophyllene oxide (1.5-31.3%) and spathulenol (0.9-10.1%)
Keyword Index
Origanum vulgare, wild marjoram, essential oil composition, sabinene, β-ocimene, (E)-β-caryophyllene, germacrene D, linalool, caryophyllene oxide, spathulenol.
Introduction
According to the classification of the species Origanum vulgare L., six sub-species are included: gracile, hirtum, viride, virens, vulgare andglandulosum (1,2). Origanumvulgaressp.hirtumisUie Greek oregano, one of the most important comnnercial oreganos (1-10). Origanumvulgare ssp.vulgare (wild marjoram ) is the most commonly found oregano in Europe (8-15). Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum is generally known to yield an oil rich in carvacrol or thymol (1-10,16-18), while O. vulgare L. ssp. virens plants produced linalool-rich oils (10,18-21). In contrast to other O. vulgare subspecies, some wild marjoram chemotypes possess oils that contain mainly monoterpene and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons mid only negligible amounts of phenols (8-15). Nykänen (13) has studied the oil composition of wild marjoram cultivated in different districts of Finland and classified the samples into three chemotypes: a hydrocarbon-rich type, a phenol-rich type and an intermediate-type. Wild marjoram of four origins cultivated in Italy (10) also had quite different oil compositions. There were sesquiterpene-rich oils (β-caryophyllene, α-cubebene), linalool and thymol-rich oils, p-cymene and β-caryophyllene-rich oils and a terpinen-4-ol-rich oil. Wild marjoram oil from Turkey (8) was found to be rich in sesquiterpenes (β-caryophyllene, germacrene D, β-bisabolene).The major component ofwild marjoram oil from India was γ-muurolene ( 15). The main wild marjoram chemotype growing wild in Lithuania was β-ocimene, germacrene D and β-caryophyllene as major components (14).
The present paper reports the oil composition of different wild marjoram origins cultivated in Estonia. The oils were analyzed by GC/FID and GC/MS.
Experimental
Origins, area of cultivation, data of collection and yield of essential oils of seven wild marjoram samples using in this study are reported in Table I. The wild marjoram seeds cultivated...