Essential oil-based phytochemical identification of the Algerian north-central species of Thymus algeriensis

Thymus algeriensis is a Lamiales member especially widespread through the Mediterranean basin, including the northern African region. Algeria counts numerous variants of the species, thriving in disparate locations and climates. The usage of aromatic species’ essential oils for the variants identification and the applications adaptation is a practice known as chemotype determination, objective of this study, with the Algerian north-central Thymus algeriensis as target. Gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry was used to analyze the Clevenger apparatus-extracted essential oil, and leaves staining was performed for the morphological identification. The species chemotype was Linalool dominant, highlighting the difference to adjacent territories growing variants reported in the literature.