The investigation of essential oil composition of the Origanum vulgare L. subsp. gracile and the probability of using as herbal tea was olso examined

In this study, essential oil composition of the Origanum vulgare L. subsp. gracile belonging to Origanum genus have been investigated and the probability of using as herbal tea was olso examined. Plant samples were collected in different vegetation periods (unflowered, flowered and seeded) from Elazığ vicinity. Essential oils of these samples were obtained by water-distillation method and their analysis were carried out by using GC-MS technique. 1,00; 0,90 ve 1,2 ml essential oil were obtained in 100 g unflowered, flowered and seeded plant samples respectively. 89.75 %, 98.45 %, 94.20 % percentages of the essential oil of Origanum samples were determined and 38, 52 and 46 components were determined in these essential oils respectively. The main constituents in this subspecies essential oils were found as thymol, alpha-terpinene, alpha-terpinolene, carvacrol, p-cymene, carvacrol methyl ether, thymol methyl ether, cis-ocimen; it is also determined that some components have shown differences in different vegetation periods in means of qualitative and quantitative. While p- cymene, alpha ?terpinene and thymol amount has increased in seeded vegetation periods, alpha ? terpinolene and carvacrol amounts has found to be more in flowered vegetation periods.Key words: Lamiaceae, Origanum vulgare subsp. gracile, Essential oils, Herbal tea.