Chemical variability and biological activities of Marrubium vulgare L. essential oil, depending on geographic variation and environmental factors

Variability of Marrubium vulgare L. essential oil, collected from 10 areas (S1-S10) in Algeria, was investigated. The multivariate analyses classified the studied essential oils into five chemotypes: the -bisabolene-type (3.1-43.4%) that characterized S7 and S8 populations and being related to the sandy soil with a high altitude, -cadinene-type (0.2-34.2%) that characterized S3 and S4 populations and being related to the sandy soil with a high temperature, E--farnesene-type (1.4-34.8%) that characterized S9 and S10 populations and being related to the basic soil with a high altitude, -caryophyllene-type (3.4-43.1%) that characterized S5 and S6 populations and being related to the clay soil with a high organic matter, and germacrene-D-type (2.1-37.9%) that characterized S1 and S2 populations and being related to the silty and salty soils. Furthermore, our findings indicated a high variability for both antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, which underline the effect of geographic variation and environmental factors on the biological activities.