Chromatographic analysis of polyphenols of some Iberian Thymus

A comparative chromatographic analysis of polyphenols of some Iberian Thymus species of the sections Pseudothymbra, Thymus and Serpyllum was carried out by means of HPLC and TLC, in order to investigate their pharmacological interest. The purified leaf extracts were analysed and compared with authentic samples of 15 flavones, one flavonol, four flavanones, two dihydroflavonols, and caffeic and rosmarinic acids. The taxa belonging to the section Pseudothymbra and some of those in the section Thymus showed the highest content of methoxylated flavonoids, which are known to have antispasmodic properties.