Research Article
Phytochemical Study of Eight Medicinal Plants of the Lamiaceae
Family Traditionally Used as Tea in the Sharri Mountains
Region of the Balkans
Avni Hajdari,
1
Behxhet Mustafa,
1
Lirie Hyseni,
1
Ani Bajrami,
2
Genista Mustafa,
3
Cassandra L. Quave,
4
and Dashnor Nebija
5
1
Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematical and atural Science, University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina”,
Mother eresa St., 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo
2
Faculty of atural Sciences, University of Tiran, Boulevard “D¨ eshmor¨ et e Kombit”, Square “Mother Teresa” o. 183,
1001 Tirana, Albania
3
Faculty of Medicine, University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina”, St. Bulevardi I D¨ eshmor¨ eve, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo
4
Center for the Study of Human Health, Emory University, 1557 Dickey Drive, Room 306, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
5
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina”,
Bulevardi I D¨ eshmor¨ eve, p.n. 10 000 Prishtina, Kosovo
Correspondence should be addressed to Dashnor Nebija; dashnor.nebija@uni-pr.edu
Received 5 November 2019; Accepted 28 January 2020; Published 19 February 2020
Academic Editor: Qiquan Wang
Copyright©2020AvniHajdarietal.isisanopenaccessarticledistributedundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionLicense,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Inthepresentstudy,eightplantspeciesbelongingtoLamiaceaefamilywereidentifiedasingredientsforherbalteasintheregion
ofSharriMountains: ymus serpyllum, Rosmarinus officinalis, Melissa officinalis, Origanum vulgare, Mentha longifolia, Ocimum
basilicum, Teucrium chamaedrys,and Sideritis scardica, respectively. Chemical composition of essential oils obtained from these
specieswasanalyzedusingGC-MSandGC-FIDwiththeaimofexaminingtheirvolatilecompoundprofiles,responsiblefortheir
respective flavors and fragrance. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed with the aim of grouping plant species
understudyonthebasisoftheirchemicalcomposition.Experimentaldatarevealedthetypicalvolatileconstituentpatternforthe
Lamiaceae family. Monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, responsible for flavor and medicinal use of these plants, were the most
abundant groups of the volatile constituents. PCA data analysis resulted in the grouping of these analyzed species in four
principal clusters.
1. Introduction
eSharriMountainsregion(inAlbanianknownasMalet
e Sharrit; in Macedonian and Serbian as
ˇ
Sar-Planina) is
one of the biggest mountain massifs in Balkans
(1,600km
2
) and is situated in the Republic of North
Macedonia (in a total area of 826.8km
2
or 51.44%) and
Republic of Kosovo (in a total area of 780.4km
2
or
48.56%) [1]. is region serves as a tremendous reservoir
of Traditional Environmental Knowledge (TEK) related
to wild plants because of its complex biocultural
diversity(hotspotofbiodiversityandhometoavarietyof
different ethnic and religious groups), the socioeconomic
environment,andthelongheldtraditionsinthecollection
of wild plants by local inhabitants.
To date, there are roughly 1,500 vascular plant species
knowntogrowintheSharriMountains[2,3].Inadditionto
local species richness, the region is also rich in cultural,
linguistic, and religious diversity. Various ethnic groups,
including Albanians, Bosniaks, and Gorani (Muslims) and
Serbs (Christian Orthodox) live on the Kosovo side of the
Sharri,whiletheMacedoniansideisinhabitedbyAlbanians
and Gorani (Muslims) and Macedonians (Christian Or-
thodox).eseethnicgroupshavelivedinclosecontactover
a span of many centuries in villages that are isolated from
urban areas.
Hindawi
e Scientific World Journal
Volume 2020, Article ID 4182064, 9 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/4182064