By Mine Kürkçüoglu, K.Hüsnü Can Başer, Alev Tosun, Ebru Dogan and Hayri Duman

Abstract: Abstract: Water-distilled essential oil from the aerial parts of Marrubium bourgaei Boiss. ssp. bourgaei (Labiatae, Lamiaceae) from Turkey was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Seventy-eight components were characterized in total, representing 90.7% of the oil. Hexadecanoic acid (33.3%) and hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (6.4%) were main constituents. Key Word Index: Marrubium bourgaei ssp. bourgaei, Labiatae, essential oil composition, hexadecanoic acid, hexahydrofarnesyl acetone.

Plant Name
Marrubium bourgaei Boiss. ssp. bourgaei (1).

Source
Aerial parts of Marrubium bourgaei Boiss. ssp. bourgaei were collected from Antalya-Bakirlar Mountain, rocky slopes, in August 2002, at an altitude of 2300–2500 m. The species was identified by one of us (HD). A voucher specimen has been deposited at the Herbarium of the Faculty of Pharmacy of Ankara University (AEF 22914).

Plant Part
Powdered aerial parts of Marrubium bourgaei Boiss. ssp. bourgaei were subjected to water distillation for 3 h using a Clevenger-type apparatus. The yield of oil was 0.4% (v/w) on dry weight basis.

Previous Work
The family Labiatae (Lamiaceae) consists of herbs and shrubs, usually glandular and aromatic. The family is composed of many culinary or flavoring herbs, native to Turkey and the Mediterranean area. While the family is represented by 45 genera, the genus Marrubium L. comprises 22 species as annual and perennial herbs in Turkey. One of them, Marrubium bourgaei Boiss. ssp. bourgaei, is described as an endemic species in the Flora of Turkey (1).

Diterpene compounds, flavonoids, phenylethanoid and phenylpropanoid components were isolated from Marrubium species (2–5). Furthermore, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of the extracts and compounds of Marrubium species have been investigated (5–7). The leaf oil composition of M. vulgare was examined and the main components were reported to be (Z)-β-farnesene (9.6%), β-caryophyllene (8.5%), (E)-2-hexenal (4.7%) and germacrene D (4.7%) (6). In Turkish folk medicine, flowering stems of M. vulgare are used as diuretic, anti-flatulence and expectorant (8). γ-Muurolene (27.8%), β-caryophyllene (24.3%) and caryophyllene oxide (6.0%) were characterized as principal components of the oil from aerial parts of M. velutinum Sm. The oils of two populations of M. peregrinum L. contained (Z)- and (E)-β-farnesene as main constituents (9). In another study, bicyclogermacrene (37.9%) and germacrene D (24.1%) were identified as major components from the oil of aerial parts of M. cuneatum Russell (10). In the oil of M. bourgaei ssp. caricum, β-caryophyllene (23.2%), (Z)-β-farnesene (13.5%), carvacrol (12.5%) and germacrene D (10.3%) were found as the main constituents (11). Hexadecanoic acid (15.4%), germacrene D (11.1%), β-caryophyllene (10.0%) and (E)-β-farnesene (7.3%) were characterized as main constituents in the oil of M. parviflorum Fisch. et Mey. ssp. oligodon (Boiss.) Seybold (12).