Common thyme is regarded as one of the most important culinary plants. The purpose of the work was to determine the intraspecific variability of common thyme with respect to morphological and chemical characters including the content and composition of essential oil and phenolic compounds in the herb. The objects of the study were 12 clones, vegetatively multiplied from randomly selected individual plants of cultivar ‘Standard Winter’. The morphological observations and harvest of raw materials were carried out in the first year plants’ vegetation. The highest differences between clones were on fresh and dry weight of herb (CV = 0.38 and 0.36, respectively), width of leaves (CV = 0.21), and density of glandular trichomes on the abaxial surface of leaves (CV = 0.29). Examined clones were also differentiated as to the chemical features. Essential oil content (performed by hydrodestillation) and composition (by GC-MS and GC-FID) were determined and they ranged from 2.10 to 4.38 g × 100 g⁻¹ DW. Here, thymol, γ-terpinen, and p-cymen were the dominant compounds. Clone no 4 was distinctive as to the highest content of essential oil followed by the highest share of thymol (54.59%). The total content of phenolic acids and flavonoids (determined according to PPh 6th) also differed among clones (CV = 0.38 and 0.36, respectively). Using a validated HPLC-DAD method, the following compounds were identified: caffeic, rosmarinic, p-coumaric acids, luteolin 7-O-glucoside, naryngenin, and (-)-epicatechin. Here, rosmarinic acid followed by luteolin 7-O-glucoside were present in the highest amounts (611.47–2675.59 and 46.77–325.11 mg × 100 g⁻¹ DW, respectively). The highest differences between clones were the contents of p-coumaric acid (CV = 0.59), luteolin 7-O-glucoside (CV = 0.50) and rosmarinic acid (CV = 0.40). Such a high range of variability can provide problems with raw material standardization. Nevertheless, it opens possibilities for breeders, whereas individual plants/clones may become valuable components for breeding.

中文翻译：

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形态和化学特性作为普通百里香（百里香）的品质决定因素，以“标准冬季”品种为例

百里香被认为是最重要的烹饪植物之一。这项工作的目的是确定普通百里香在形态和化学特性方面的种内变异性，包括草药中精油和酚类化合物的含量和组成。该研究的对象是从“标准冬季”品种的随机选择植物中无性繁殖的12个无性系。在第一年植物的植被中进行了形态学观察和原材料收获。克隆之间的最大差异在于草本的鲜重和干重（分别为CV = 0.38和0.36），叶片宽度（CV = 0.21）以及叶片背面的腺毛毛密度（CV = 0.29）。检查的克隆也根据化学特征进行了区分。^-1 DW。在此，百里酚，γ-萜品烯和对-cymen是主要的化合物。4号克隆的区别在于精油含量最高，其次是百里酚（54.59％）。各个克隆中酚酸和类黄酮的总含量（根据PPh 6th确定）也有所不同（分别为CV = 0.38和0.36）。使用经验证的HPLC-DAD方法，鉴定了以下化合物：咖啡因，迷迭香酸，对香豆酸，木犀草素7- O-葡糖苷，缩水仙子素和（-）-表儿茶素。在这里，迷迭香酸和木犀草素7- O-葡萄糖苷的含量最高（611.47–2675.59和46.77–325.11 mg×100 g ^-1DW）。克隆之间的最大差异是对-香豆酸（CV = 0.59），木犀草素7- O-葡萄糖苷（CV = 0.50）和迷迭香酸（CV = 0.40）的含量。如此高的可变性会给原材料标准化带来麻烦。尽管如此，它为育种者提供了可能性，而单个植物/克隆可能成为育种的重要组成部分。