An interpopulation study of the essential oils of various parts of Crithmum maritimum L. growing in Amorgos island, Greece

The composition of the essential oil obtained from different parts of Crith mum maritimum L., growing in Amorgos island (Greece) and their interpopulat ion variability were investigated by GC and GC/MS. The yield of the essenti al oil from various parts of the plants in the examined populations, varied from 0.08-0.99%. Monoterpenes constituted the more important portion of th e oil while a few sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were detected in small amounts . The major compounds detected in all cases were p-cymene (0.8-15.8%), meth yl thymol (4.4-41.0%), terpinen-4-ol (3.9-16.0%), sabinene (1.1-24.7%), bet a -phellandrene (0-10.3%), gamma -terpinene (6.9-28.6%), or even dillapiole (0-48.8%) in one case. The results obtained from GC/MS analysis of the oil s were subjected to multivariate analysis (cluster analysis).