Abstract

Seventeen populations of Orignanum vulgare (four populations), Thymus capitatus (four populations) and Satureja montana (Origanum) were collected from different agro-climatically diverse sites in Albania. Their essential oils were subjected to detailed GC/FID and GC/MS analyses to determine similarities and differences among them for their chemical composition, especially the major compounds, such as Carvacrol and Thymol, which carry economic importance in medicinal plant industry and food industry. The concentrations of Carvacrol varied from 21.07 to 77.79%; Thymol from 0.72 to 39.9%; y-Terpinene from 4 to 13.8% and p-Cymene from 0.74 to 17.4%. From the cluster analysis (CA) accomplished by using the statistical software R, we came to two conclusions. (1) The collections of O. vulgare subsp. hirtum (rich in Carvacrol) and Th. capitatus (balanced concentration of compound) made from identical locations belonged to two different sub-groups, whereas the populations of S. montana were divided into these two groups based on their oil compositions. (2) There were no appreciable environmental effects on oil concentration.

Key words: Orignanum vulgare, Thymus capitatus, Satureja montana, essential oils, cluster analysis.