Comparison of the essential oil composition of two subspecies of Satureja montana

ABSTRACT The chemical composition of Satureja montana, L. subsp. montana, and S. montana, subsp. variegata, (Host.) P.W. Ball, oils obtained from ten ecologically different locations in Croatia, Bosnia and Hercegovina were investigated by TLC and GC. The oil content varied from 0.66% to 1.47%. Substantial variations in relative concentrations of individual components were also noticed. The main component found in the oils was carvacrol (5.58–84.19%). The thymol content was quite low (0.45–2.84%) in most samples except for two, where it was significantly higher (8.01–13.61%). Cluster analysis and principal component analysis revealed the presence of four distinct chemotypes; however, the results obtained suggested that essential oil composition was not a useful chemotaxonomic character to partition between S. montana, subsp. montana subsp. variegata.