Essential oil and microelement composition of Thymus citriodorus L. and Lippia citriodora H.B.K.

Abstract

Lemon verbena (Lippia citriodora H.B.K., Verbenaceae family) is indigenous to South America and cultivated as an aromatic plant in various parts of world. Lemon thyme (Thymus citriodorus L.), Lamiaceae family, is a perennial medicinal plant native to southern Europe and is cultivated in the Mediterranean region. These species are cultivated mainly for the lemon-like aroma emitted from their leaves due to the presence of dimethyl-2,6- octadienal, also known as lemonal or citral, which is used in food and perfumery for its citrus effect. The aim of this study was to determine the mineral content and essential oil components of L. citriodora and T. citriodorus plants grown under semi-arid climatic conditions in Turkey. The aerial parts of lemon thyme and lemon verbena plants were extracted using hydrodistillation. The essential oil composition was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and the microelement contents of the herbs were examined via inductively coupled plasmaoptical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The microelement contents were 0.249, 1.630, 16.41, 0.106, and 13.1-36.2 mg kg-1 for cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), and manganese (Mn), respectively, in lemon thyme, and 0.275, 4.584, 248.1, 15.71, and 1.803 mg kg-1 for Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, and zinc (Zn), respectively, in lemon verbena. Fifty compounds were identified in lemon verbena essential oil, including limonene (30.33%), trans-citral (17%), cis-citral (12.77%), caryophyllene oxide (5.71%), and geraniol acetate (4.02%) that together constituted 99.86% of the oil composition. We also identified 22 compounds constituting approximately 85.11% of lemon thyme essential oil, including transgeraniol (30.07%), trans-citral (15.06%), cis-citral (11.71%), cis-geraniol (7.65%), and 3-octanol (6.18%).