Hydrodistilled essential oil and the corresponding headspace volatiles of Bosnian wild growing Thymus praecox ssp. polytrichus (A. Kern. Ex Borbàs) Jalas and Thymus praecox ssp. skorpilii (Velen.) Jalas were subjected to capillary GC-MS analysis. This work presents a detailed essential oil analysis of these two rare Thymus subspecies from Bosnia, as well as the very first report on their headspace composition. Eighty-seven volatile constituents were identified in four samples. Two alcohols were the major constituents in the essential oil of T. praecox ssp. polytrichus, a monoterpene, linalool (13.9%), and a sesquiterpene, (E)-nerolidol (10.4%), while linalyl acetate (36.7%) and linalool (22.7%) were the most abundant volatiles in the corresponding headspace sample. Oxygenated monoterpenes (57.5%) predominate in the essential oil of T. praecox ssp. skorpilii with linalyl acetate (28.7%) and linalool (14.4%) as the main representatives. Headspace sample of this subspecies also showed richness in linalyl acetate (52.4%), while the second most abundant compound was α-pinene (14.5%), a monoterpene hydrocarbon.

Essential‐oil profile of Salvia brachyodon Vandas, an endemic Dinaric species transferred from Adriatic Coast to the continental climatic conditions, was determined. Hydrodistilled oils obtained from the plant material collected in three‐year field trial were subjected to the detailed GC/MS analysis. Hundred and fifty volatile compounds were identified in four samples. Comparison of the chemical composition of the isolated essential oils showed that population collected one year after transfer preserved sesquiterpene character of its oil (74.3%), while all subsequent samples gave the oils of monoterpene type with 1,8‐cineole as the principal constituent (22.2–42.3%). The high degree of variation in the qualitative and quantitative composition of the volatile constituents revealed the strong influence of environmental conditions on the nature of plant chemical composition that has an important role in a plant adaptation.

Stachys menthifolia Vis. (Lamiaceae) is an endemic species from the Balkan Peninsula spread throughout Albania, Greece, Montenegro, and Croatia. This article presents the first investigation of the essential oil composition of this species from Croatia. Aerial parts of the plant were collected from three different natural habitats in the region of Biokovo Mountain. The studied populations showed similarity in qualitative, but not in quantitative, composition of their essential oils. Hydrodistilled volatile oil obtained from the plant material of S. menthifolia was subjected to gas chromatographic analysis coupled to mass spectrometry. More than 100 compounds were identified in the three samples, representing 86.8–90.8% of the total oil. The terpene profile of S. menthifolia is characterized by a high content of oxygenated sesquiterpenes (48.4–58.9%) and diterpene hydrocarbons (3.5–25.2%), with 8-α-acetoxyelemol (6.9–21.3%), abietatriene (3.5–21.1%), and 4′-methoxyacetophenone (4.5–17.0%) as the main constituents.

Cavar, S., Maksimovic, M., Solic, M. E.: Comparison of Essential Oil Composition of Stachysmenthifolia Vis. from Two Natural Habitats in Croatia. Biologica Nyssana, 1 (1-2), December 2010: 99-103. Stachys menthifolia Vis. is an endemic species from the Balkan Peninsula. Aerial parts of the plant werecollected from its natural habitat near Dubrovnik. Hydrodistilled volatile oil obtained from the plant materialof S. menthifolia was subjected to gas chromatographic analysis coupled to mass spectrometry. More than 70compounds were identified, representing 94.5% of the total oil. The major constituents of the oil werediterpenoid abietatriene (11.7%), and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons α-bisabolene (8.4%), and β-caryophyllene(7.4%). Presented results are comparable to our previous findings on essential oil composition of the samespecies from Biokovo Mountain, with small differences in quantitative and qualitative constitution of the oil.Although plants belonging to the Stachys genus show significant variability in their chemical compositionsdepending on the location and stage of plant development, this work indicates that chemical polymorphism ofendemic S. menthifolia does not manifest in the region of Croatian Mediterranean area. Key words : abietatriene, essential oil, GC-MS, Stachys menthifolia Vis.

Essential oil of Thymus aureopunctatus (Beck) K. Malý, obtained by hydrodistillation and headspace technique, was subjected to capillary GC-MS analysis, and its volatile composition was compared with essential oil profile of Thymus serpyllum L. and a botanically undetermined thyme species, Thymus spp., all growing wild in the same habitat in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This paper presents the first report on phytochemical analysis of the rare T. aureopunctatus species, and also the first report on headspace analysis of plants belonging to the genus Thymus. One hundred and two volatile constituents were identified. The investigated Thymus species of Bosnian origin clearly belong to the thymol-chemotype with relatively abundant level of this main constituent varying from 30.5% for T. serpyllum, and 34.5% for T. aureopunctatus, to 44.2% for Thymus spp., while their corresponding headspace samples contain very high percentage of p-cymene, thymol biosynthesis precursor, in the range from 29.1% to 68.1%.

Abstract Satureja is a genus of the well-known medicinal plants of Lamiaceae family that comprises numerous species growing wild in the Mediterranean area. The essential oils of Satureja visianii Šilic and Satureja montana L., growing together at the same habitat under similar environmental conditions, were subjected to detailed gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis in order to compare their chemical composition. S. visianii Šilic is a stenoendemic species with narrow geographical distribution limited to only one locality, Pelješac Peninsula in Croatia. More than one hundred twenty compounds were identified in both plant oils representing 90.4 % - 99.5 % of the total oil. The most abundant components in S. visianii essential oil were viridiflorol (17.9 %), borneol (12.6 %) and camphor (6.5 %), while S. montana oil was rich in phenolic compounds carvacrol (59.1 %) and thymol (20.1 %).

The essential oil and headspace obtained from odorous parts of Thymus moesiacus Velen., an endemic species from Bosnia and Herzegovina, were subjected to capillary GC/MS analysis. The identification of the volatile constituents was accomplished by computer library search, retention indices RI, and the visual interpretation of mass spectra with those found in the literature [1] and in the laboratory own database. Fifty-seven compounds were identified in both samples: fifty-five in essential oil, and thirty-five in headspace sample, representing 99.27% and 99.49%, respectively. The most abundant components in essential oil were gamma-muurolene (24.68%), thymol (8.62%) and bornyl acetate (8.26%), while the main constituents of the headspace sample were p-cymene (18.07%), alpha-pinene (15.34%), and gamma-muurolene (12.91%). Presented results significantly differ from those previously published [2,3], which is in agreement with the fact of complex chemical polymorphism of this genus. References: 1. Adams, R.P. (2001) Identification of Essential oil of Components by Gas Chromatography/Quadrupole Mass Spectroscopy. Allured Publishing Corporation. Illinois. 2. Kulevanova, S. et al. (1996) Planta Med. 62:78–79. 3. Cavar, S. et al. (2006) IV Balkan Botanical Congress, Sofia, Book of Abstracts, p.285.

The aim of this study was to examine in vitro the inhibitory activity exerted by the main constituents of essential oil obtained from the aromatic plant Thymus vulgaris L. on acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The total essential oil and selected compounds, specifically linalool and thymol, carvacrol and their derivatives thymoquinone and thymohydroquinone, were tested for AChE inhibition. Thymohydroquinone exhibited the strongest AChE inhibitory effect over the range of concentrations. The AChE inhibitory potential decreased in the following order: thymohydroquinone > carvacrol > thymoquinone > essential oil > thymol > linalool. It is interesting that the AChE inhibitory effect exerted by carvacrol was 10 times stronger than that exerted by its isomer thymol, although thymol and carvacrol have a very similar structure. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Bosnian pine (Pinus heldreichii Christ. var. leucodermis) is a plant endemic to the Balkan Peninsula and Southern Italy. The free volatile constituents of this plant have been studied in the context of biosystematic investigations related to the environment [1, 2]. Essential oils are dominated by monoterpene hydrocarbons such as limonene, pinenes and terpinenes, followed by sesquiterpenes germacrene, Δ -cadinene, α -humulene, and caryophyllene. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of drying on the chemical composition of Bosnian pine essential oil. Samples of plant material (pine needles) were collected in central Herzegovina near Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in January 2007. Each sample was collected in triplicate, pooled and then divided in two parts: one was investigated as fresh plant material (100 g) and other (500 g) was dried in shaded place at room temperature and submitted consecutively to five investigations within air-drying period for 30 days. The essential oil was isolated by hydrodistillation in Clevenger type apparatus for 2 h. The yields of essential oils were determined by gravimetric method and expressed as a mean value. Volatile constituents were analyzed using a Hewlett-Packard GC-MS system (GC 5890 series II, MSD 5971A). The comparative analysis of oils isolated from fresh and dried plant material showed a minor increase in essential oil yield and no significant qualitative differences in oil composition after drying. On the other hand, some quantitative differences were found, especially in major components limonene and germacrene. The oil obtained form dried plant material showed remarkable increase in abundance of limonene (22.7% - 42.8%), α -pinene (1.0%-14.2%) and β -pinene (0.6%-5.26%). However, a substantial decrease was noted for germacrene (52.5% - 21.9%).