The Effect of Drying of the Composition of Volatile Organic Compounds inRosmarinus officinalis,Laurus nobilis,Salvia officinalisandThymus serpyllum. A HS-SPME-GC-MS Study

The main components of the volatile fraction of Rosmarinus officinalis L. leaves were α-pinene (23.92 %), camphene (11.50 %), limonene (8.27 %), β-pinene (7.95 %), and camphor (6.11 %). After the drying process α-pinene, limonene, and camphor showed a decrease of the relative amount, while β-pinene and camphene increased. The main components of Laurus nobilis L. leaves were β-pinene (19.44 %), 1,8-cineole (19.38 %), trans-caryophyllene (8.55 %), and sabinene (7.91 %). After the drying process an increase of the relative amount of sabinene (17.0 %) was observed, while the amounts of β-pinene, 1,8-cineole, and trans-caryophyllene decreased for 11 %, 18 %, and 27 %, respectively. The main components of Salvia officinalis L. were 1,8-cineole (22.32 %), β-thujone, camphor (11.21 %), β-pinene (8.93 %), and trans-caryophyllene (5.02 %). After the drying process the amount of 1,8-cineole and camphor decreased (12 % and 23 %, respectively). On the contrary, the amount of β-pinene increased from 8.93 to 11.36 % (27 %) and that of β-thujone increased from 20.26 to 27.04 %. The main components of Thymus serpyllum were p-cymene (30.35 %) and γ-terpinene (11.85 %). After the drying process, the amount of p-cymene increased (plus 20 %), while the relative amount of γ-terpinene showed a clear decrease (26 %).