COMPOSITION AND VARIATION OF ESSENTIAL OIL OF THYMUS-INTEGER GRISEB OF CYPRUS

The essential oils of the aerial parts of five populations of Thymus i nteger Griseb. endemic of Cyprus, collected from 4 regions were invest igated by means of GC/MS. The essential oil contents were 0.2-0.9% (v/ w). 44 components could be identified. Main constituents were p-cymene (15.7-25%) and borneol (18.7-23.8%), followed by terpinene (9.2-12.3% ), thymol (3.1-8.4%) and carvacrol (0.5-1.6%). The qualitative and qua ntitative variations of the essence components from the five samples a re discussed and compared with those of other species of thyme oils fr om different origins.