Chemical Composition of Algerian Thymus algeriensis Boiss. & Reut. and Marrubium vulgare L. (Lamiaceae) Essential Oils from the Aures Region

This study was aimed to determine the chemical composition of essential oils obtained from aerial parts of Thymus algeriensis Boiss. & Reut. and Marrubium vulgare L. collected in the Aures region of Algeria. Essential oils were extracted by steam distillation method and analyzed using GC-MS and GC-FID techniques. Thirty-five (35) and twenty-nine (29) components were identified respectively in T. algeriensis and M. vulgare essential oils to represent respectively 94.8% and 75.7% of the total oil composition. The main compounds of T. algeriensis oil were germacrene D (29.6%), β-caryophyllene (11.0%), E-β-farnesene (7.8%), bicyclogermacrene (4.4%) and δ-cadinene (4.0%), while, β-bisaboene (36.3%), β-caryophyllene (7.8%), phytol (6.2%), nonacosane (4.0%) and heptacosane (3.3%) were the main components of M. vulgare oil. The richness of these two oils in germacrene D and β-bisaboene respectively could suggest a new bioactivity.