## 3 Results and Discussion
### Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction (HS-SPME/GC-Ms)  
In the herbal extracts of \(S\), \(WT\), and \(L\), volatile headspace compounds were isolated and analyzed by HS-SPME/GC-MS, and the results are shown in Table 4.  
Monoterpenes were the most common isolated volatile organic compounds in the examined extracts. The oxygenated monoterrepenes \(\beta\)-thujone (32.73%), \(\alpha\)-thujone (17.99%), camphor (14.42%) and 1,8-cineole (13.08%) were the major constituents in the aqueous extract of S. These monoterrepenes are well known for their antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties [63] and were also previously reported as the major constituents in sage hydrate [12; 64; 65] and in much higher concentrations in a sage essential oil [66; 67; 68; 69]. Additionally, [PERSON] et al. [12] compared distilled and extracted products of sage and determined that 1,8-cineole and camphor were present in greater quantities in the hydrolate in comparison to the essential oil, which can be explained by their better solubility in water. The essential oils containing thujones are believed to have potential neurotoxic and hepatotoxic effects that are not necessarily related only to thujone content but also to the presence of other components in the essential oils [66; 70; 71]. However, since thujones are less soluble in water, their minor presence in aqueous extracts could be associated with the mentioned toxic effects. However, it is still necessary to determine possible toxicity levels in herbal infusions because the trend of consuming them daily is growing [71; 72]. Furthermore, the presence of thujones, camphor and 1,8-cineole also contribute to sensory features, providing minty and fresh odors and eucalyptus aromas, which is significant for functional beverages production [73; 74]. The results obtained for the _WT_ extract showed that the main volatile compound was carvacrol (19.24%), while thymoquinone, geraniol and thymol were present at concentrations of 11.3, 11.7 and 11.9%, respectively. Previously, the studies reported carvacrol and thymol as the most abundant compounds in wild thyme essential oil [75; 76; 77]. At the same time, thymol is also reported as the main compound of wild thyme hydrolate [78] and hydrolates of other _Thymus_ species such as _Thymus mastichina_ L. [79], _T. vulgaris_ and _Thymus zygis_ Loefl. ex L. [80]. Carvacrol and thymol are monoterpene phenols with powerful antiseptic, antibacterial, antioxidant, antifungal, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties [81; 82; 83; 84; 85; 86]. Furthermore, the current study results have shown the presence of geraniol and thymoquinone as the compounds found in lower concentrations but with similar biological properties as carvacrol and thymol [87; 88; 89; 90]. The application of thymol or carvacrol in food products inhibits quality loss of the product, but their addition at high levels can affect the sensory properties. Therefore, special attention should be paid to sensory analysis [91], especially because thymol is the most active compound of the _WT_ extract that contributes to the aromatic profile, providing a pungent and herbaceous aroma and characteristic thyme odor [14; 92]. In the \(L\) aqueous extract, 1,8-cineole (34.61%), linalool (17.75%) and methyl eugenol (14.43%) were the major compounds. These results confirmed the compounds mentioned above as the main constituents of laurel hydrolate [64; 93] and essential oil [94; 95] in varying amounts. It is considered that methyl eugenol is a limiting factor that allows the use of laurel essential oil in food applications [96] and, along with linalool, exhibits antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties [94; 97; 98; 99; 100; 101; 102] and various effects on the central nervous system [98; 103; 104]. These compounds are the primary compounds responsible for the aroma of laurel leaves [105]. Still, the low water solubility of linalool and methyl eugenol is a severe limit to their application in an aqueous environment [106; 107].