Correlation between the Chemical and Genetic Relationships among Commercial Thyme Cultivars

Abstract

The essential oil composition and genetic variability of six commercial cultivars of thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.), a Mediterranean medicinal and aromatic plant, were analyzed by GC-MS and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), respectively. All evaluated cultivars belong to the thymol chemotype, with differences in the concentrations of thymol, gamma-terpinene, p-cymene, and other minor components. The comparison of the oil components concentration by multivariate analysis allowed separation of the cultivars into two groups. All of the cultivars exhibited characteristic RAPD patterns that allowed their identification. On the basis of the RAPD patterns, the cultivars could be divided into two clusters, which coincides with results obtained by oil GS-MS analysis, with a correlation coefficient of -0.779.

Raw materials: the importance of quality and safety. A review.

“…[20,21] Since there is a correlation between the fragrance and composition of the essential oil, the odour could help users to choose the necessary desired chemotype for their intended use. [22] Other Thymus spp., such as T. caespititius, T. lotocephalus and T. villosus, [23][24][25] also reveal an accentuated chemi cal variability. Some plants producing other types of metabolites also show chemical variability.…”

“…It was decided that EU directives controlling the market would result in safer food supplements and herbal medicines throughout the EU. [22] The [94][95][96] There are also problems with some borderline products between food and cosmetic products. For instance, the Seventh Amendment to the EU Cosmetics Act (see Directive 2003/15/EC), [97] amongst other things, required a labelling obligation (by March 2005) for a fi nal cosmetic product containing any of the 26 allergens listed in the Directive, present at 0.01% in products rinsed off the skin, or 0.001% in leave-on products.…”

Chemical composition and antitumor activity of different wild varieties of Moroccan thyme

“…The most important are the climate, the soil, the harvest period and the method of preservation and extraction. Genetic factors (Echeverrigaray et al, 2001) and vegetative cycle (Hanci et al, 2003;Hudaib et al, 2002) can also infl uence this variability. However, in spite of this diversity, some components are curently encountered in all species whatever at variable amounts.…”

Chaerophyllum azoricum Trel. grown in the Azores archipelago, Portugal: evaluation of the genetic diversity using molecular markers and comparison with volatile oils profiles

“…High polymorphism had previously been reported for other family Lamiaceae and Apiaceae medicinal and aromatic plants, as Salvia fruticosa, [14] Ocimum gratissimum, [15] Thymus vulgaris, [16] Changium smyrnioides, [17] Cunila galioides [18] and Vitex rotundifolia. [19] The detection of high levels of polymorphism makes RAPD and ISSR analysis a powerful tool for assessing genetic diversity in C. azoricum.…”