Essential oils of Iranian Satureja species, a valuable source for preparation of natural products

Satureja spp. are annual or perennial aromatic plants of the Lamiaceae family, the green parts of which are used orally, and their essential oils (EO) are widely used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. There are 16 Satureja species in Iran, ten of which are endemic. S. hortensis and S. montana are two well-known savory species for food consumption cultivated in many parts of the world. Two phenolic compounds, including carvacrol and thymol, are the main constituents of these two savory species EO. A study on the yield and EO compounds of native and endemic Iranian savory species showed that some of these species contained EO of much higher quantity and quality than the cultivated one (S. hortensis), for example, S. khuzistanica (EO yield: 3.3-4%, more than 80% carvacrol) and S. rechingeri (EO yield: 3.8-4.2%, up to 90% carvacrol). S. bachtiarica, with about 3% EO yield and 70% carvacrol or thymol, is the only Satureja species with two chemotypes in Iran. S. sahendica, with 1.5-3% EO yield and thymol as the main compound of its EO, is one of the few savory species that has a wide distribution range in Iran. In this paper, a summary of the studies on the content and EO composition and application of different native Iranian Satureja species is presented.