Chemometric Tools to Highlight the Variability of the Chemical Composition and Yield of Lebanese Origanum syriacum L. Essential Oil

This study deals with the variation in the yield and composition of Lebanese Origanum syriacum L. essential oil (EO) according to harvesting time, drying methods used, and geographical location. Plant material was harvested twice a month all over 2013 and 2014 from Qartaba and Achkout located at high altitude and from Byblos at low altitude. EOs of the aerial parts were obtained by hydrodistillation. The highest yields were obtained at full flowering stage and slightly reduced after flowering. The GC/MS analysis revealed the presence of 50 components representing 90.49 – 99.82%, 88.79 – 100%, and 95.28 – 100% of the total oil extracted from plants harvested from Qartaba, Achkout, and Byblos, respectively. The major components in the oils were: carvacrol (2.1 – 79.8%), thymol (0.3 – 83.7%), p‐cymene (2.8 – 43.8%), thymoquinone (0.4 – 27.7%), γ‐terpinene (0.4 – 10.0%), octan‐3‐ol (0.3 – 4.9%), caryophyllene oxide (0.2 – 4.7%), oct‐1‐en‐3‐ol (0.3 – 3.7%), β‐caryophyllene (0.7 – 3.2%), cis‐sabinene hydrate (0.1 – 2.8%), terpinen‐4‐ol (0.1 – 2.8%), and α‐terpinene (0.2 – 2.2%). Independent components analysis (ICA) revealed that two groups were discriminated, reflecting compositional differences in the EOs profiles of the Lebanese oregano samples: O. syriacum grown in Qartaba and Achkout belongs to carvacrol chemotype, while O. syriacum grown in Byblos belongs to thymol chemotype. The flowering phase was the most productive period in terms of yield, bringing marked changes in the EO composition by increasing the amounts of carvacrol or thymol, and decreasing those of thymoquinone and p‐cymene.