Geraniol and Carvacrol in Essential Oil Bearing Thymus pulegioides : Distribution in Natural Habitats and Phytotoxic Effect

Phenolic and non-phenolic chemotypes of L. are common in Europe. Essential oils of these chemotypes, as various compositions of allelochemicals, can have different phytotoxic effects on neighboring plants in natural habitats. The aim of this study was to establish the distribution of carvacrol and geraniol in , growing wild in Lithuania, and compare phytotoxity of essential oils of carvacrol and geraniol chemotypes on selected plant species. In investigating 131 habitats, essential oils were isolated by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. Phytotoxity of essential oils extracted from carvacrol and geraniol chemotypes transmitted through water and air to selected plants was determined under laboratory conditions. Pharmacologically valuable L. and the important forage grass L. were respectively selected for experimentation from among 35 medicinal plants and 10 feed Poaceae species, growing in habitats. Field results showed that carvacrol is common throughout Lithuania's territory, whereas the geraniol is predominantly located under the continental climatic conditions of the eastern region of the country. In the laboratory experiment, it was established that there was stronger inhibition of seed germination by the essential oil of the geraniol chemotype than the carvacrol chemotype. None of the seeds germinated after exposure to the essential oil of the geraniol chemotype. In general, this study builds on previous studies by providing further evidence that different chemotypes have contrasting phytotoxic effects on neighboring plants within their natural habitats.