Variation in the essential oil of Thymus kotschyanus Boiss.& Hohen. apical shoots at different developmental stages.

Thymus kotschyanus Boiss.& Hohen. is an Iranian medicinal plants that grows in different areas of Iran such as Mazandaran, Gilan, Azerbaijan, Kurdistan and Tehran. In this study, variation in the quantity and quality of the essential oil of Thymus kotschyanus Boiss.& Hohen. apical shoots at different developmental stages including vegetative, early flower opening and full flowering stages is reported. The obtained oils by hydro distillation of dried samples were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The maximum percentage of oil was in full flowering stage (3.5%). 21, 25 and 19 compounds were identified in the oils of apical shoots in vegetative, early flower opening and full flowering plants, respectively. The major components of the branches essential oils were similar in all stages which included carvacrol, sabinene hydrate, 1,8-cineole, p-cymene and borneol. Results showed that the essential oil of T. kotschyanus apical shoots were rich in monoterpenes (19 compoiunds). 95.48%, 95.26% and 90.69% of the total identified compounds were monoterpens in vegetative, early flower opening and full flowering stages, respectively.