Composition of Essential Oils from Roots and Aerial Parts of and Their Antibacterial and Cytotoxic Activities.

L., one of the two species occurring in Europe, in the Far East and India, found use as a vegetable and a traditional medicinal remedy for several ailments. In the present study, compositions of essential oils distilled from roots and shoots of plants, cultivated in the open field, have been studied by GC-MS-FID supported by NMR spectroscopy. The analyses led to the identification of 120 compounds in total, of which 115 were found in aerial parts and 37 in roots of the plants. The major constituents found in the oil from shoots were: α-pinene (35%) and 2,5-dimethoxy--cymene (thymohydroquinone dimethyl ether, 12%), whereas 2,5-dimethoxy--cymene (55%), thymyl isobutyrate (9%) and thymol methyl ether (8%) predominated in the essential oil obtained from the roots. Antibacterial and cytotoxic activities of the essential oils distilled from were also tested. The essential oil from aerial parts of the plant demonstrated good inhibitory activity against ATCC 29213 and ATCC 25922 (MIC: 15.6 μL/mL).