ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Chemical Composition of The Essential Oil of Satureja Spicigera at Different Developmental Stages from Central Black Sea Region, Turkey

Satureja spicigera (Lamiaceae) is an aromatic perennial plant and grows wildly in Black Sea Region of Turkey. This species traditionally has been used in traditional medicine, to treat various ailments and infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to compare the chemical composition the essential oil that was obtained from Satureja spicigera in different developmental stages in Central Black Sea Region, Turkey. Plant material was harvested at three different phenological stages (pre- flowering, full- flowering and post- flowering period) of the life span of the Satureja spicigera. The essential oil of S. spicigera was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The hydrodistillation of aerial plant that were collected at pre- flowering, full- flowering and post- flowering period resulted in essential oil yields of 0.64%, 1.17% and 0.12%, respectively. Thirty-six compounds representing 90.83–97.81% of the oils were characterized. Throughout the growth stage of the plant, the main components were found to be carvacrol (32.77-49.11%), thymol (3.04 – 13.21%), γ-terpinene (3.11-13.33%) and ısothymol methyl ether (3.65-11.98%). While carvacrol content decreased during vegetation period, isothymol methyl ether level increased. Thymol and γ-terpinene reached that its highest values during full-flowering stage. The results obtained from this study showed differences compared to pre-flowering, full-flowering and post- flowering period on essential oil composition.