Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils of different samples of Thymus baeticus boiss

Gas chromatography was used to determine the chemical composition of the essential oil of female and hermaphrodite Thymus baeticus Boiss. collected in Ugijar (province of Granada, Spain). The results were compared with the chemical composition of other samples of the same species, collected in Lanjaron. These comparisons showed some qualitative differences, and more obvious quantitative differences, in the compositions of the essential oils. We also investigated the antimicrobial activity of all samples. This activity, although marked in all samples, was greater in essential oils containing larger amounts of geraniol.