Comparative analysis of the essential oil yield and chemical composition of cultivated Origanum spp. in Greece
Efstratios Episkopou1#, Eleni Kakouri1#, Dimitra Daferera1, Garyfalia Economou2, Petros A. Tarantilis 1*
1Laboratory of Chemistry, Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
2Department of Crop Science, School of Plant Sciences, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, Athens, Greece
#These authors contributed equally to this work
Efstratios Episkopou: stratos_episkopou@hotmail.com Eleni Kakouri: elenikakouri@aua.gr. Dimitra Daferera: daferera@aua.gr Garyfalia Economou: economou@aua.gr Petros A. Tarantilis: ptara@aua.gr
*Correspodence: Petros A. Tarantilis,
ORCIDs: EK: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6233-2874; DD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8934-7745; GE: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5283-2218; P.A.T: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5853-4780
DOI: 10.62579/JAGC0017
Abstract
Origanum vulgare spp. hirtum or commonly known as Greek oregano, is considered one of the best medicinal and aromatic plants worldwide. Its essential oil, mainly rich in carvacrol or thymol, makes the species of unique importance for culinary and pharmaceutical uses. The plant grows in the wild, maintaining its exceptional chemical characteristics, but it is also cultivated. Its cultivation is the solution to guarantee its supply and limit the overexploitation of wild populations. Nevertheless, apart from Origanum vulgare spp. hirtum, newly described varieties or other species merit further attention. Therefore, in this study, cultivated plants of O. vulgaris spp. hirtum, Origanum onites, and Origanum × intercedens were evaluated for their volatile profile using GC-MS analysis. Our results showed that all the Origanum species are rich in essential oil in which carvacrol is the most abundant constituent. In addition, new data regarding O. vulgare spp. hirtum var. Arethousa and the hybrid Origanum × intercedens, add valuable information and prove that further exploitation of these two species is of great importance to the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry.
Keywords: Origanum spp, Origanum vulgare spp hirtum var. Arethousa; Origanum × intercedens; cultivation; carvacrol