identification of essential oil components of satureja sahendica bornm. in cultivated condition in qazvin

background: satureja sahandica is a perennial plant of the family lamiaceae and an aromatic plant of iran flora with its essential oil components used in culinary, medicinal, and perfume industries. objective: to identify components of s. sahandica planted in qazvin condition. methods: aerial parts of s. sahandica were collected from a research farm (qazvin agriculture and natural resources research center) at flowering stage in 2007. the plant materials were subjected to hydro-distillation using a clevenger-type apparatus for 3 h to produce essential oil and followed by gc and gc/ms for determination of chemical compositions. findings: s. sahandica in cultivated condition gave oils with a yield of 2.12% on dry weight basis. thirteen components were identified. the main constituents of the essential oil were thymol (38.3%), γ-terpinene (30.9%), and p-cymene (21.3%). essential oil of this plant in cultivated condition produced trace amounts of carvacrol. conclusion: the results of this study indicated that the essential oil is rich in monoterpene phenols. thymol, γ- terpinene, and p-cymene were found to be the main components of the essential oil.