## 3 Results
### Essential Oil Composition of Nepeta catararia
[25] integrated agrochemical and genetic profiling in 30 natural Indian populations of catnip, revealing high phenotypic and genotypic diversity, with weak correlations between genetic profiles and essential-oil composition. The dominant compound was 4a\(\alpha\),7\(\alpha\),7\(\alpha\)-nepetalactone, ranging from 73.5% to 93.2%. Genetic analysis using 41 DNA markers indicated high polymorphism and classified  
Figure 5: Unrooted cluster tree for different catnip and Lemon catnip samples from the literature (samples are numbered according to Table 3). the populations into three clusters. In the USA, cathip grown in greenhouses showed high neepetalactone levels (77.6%), whereas Lemon cathip exhibited high citronellol and geraniol but low neepetalactone (9.4%) content [60]. Further studies have shown that harvesting time and location significantly influence essential oil profiles in different cultivars [8; 36]. In Bulgarian populations, regional differences produced distinct isomeric compositions of neepetalactone, with coastal samples showing a mix of isomers and mountain samples dominated by 4a\(\alpha\),7a,7a\(\beta\)-repetalactone [18]. Ukrainian cultivars of Lemon cathip (cv. Melody and Peremozhets) were rich in geraniol, nerol, citronellol, geraniol, and neral, with notable neepetalactone content [23]. Egyptian studies have demonstrated that the essential oil composition of both cathip and Lemon cathip is influenced by harvest timing, water stress, salicylic acid application, and soil type. Cathip mainly contains neepetalactones and geraniol, while Lemon cathip contains nerol, citronellal, neral, and carophyllene oxide [19; 38; 40]. Light quality, nitrogen, and drought stress significantly affect oil yield but not composition in greenhouse-grown plants [45; 46; 47]. In Kazakhstan, NPK fertilization increased biomass and oil yield, with neepetalactone reaching 79.32% [32]. Serbian wild populations exhibit seasonal variations in the distribution of essential oils across plant parts [44]. Developmental stages influenced the essential oil content and neepetalactone composition in Iranian samples, with the highest yields at the flowering and fruit set stages [48; 49; 50]. French populations also showed stage-dependent oil changes, where neepetalactone increased from 12.7% before flowering to 59.7% during flowering [59]. Postharvest processing of French samples did not significantly affect the oil composition, which was consistently rich in geraniol, nerol, citronellol, and gerani [57]. Hydrodistillation vs. steam distillation of Lemon cathip influenced oil composition; hydrodistillation yielded higher gerani and neral levels than steam distillation [51]. In Germany, cathip oils contained predominantly stereoisomeric neepetalactones (especially 4a\(\alpha\),7\(\alpha\),7a\(\alpha\) at 77.7%) along with _trans_-caryophyllene and carophyllene oxide, while the Lemon cathip featured nerol, citronellol, and geraniol [27]. Himalayan cattip introduced to tropical plains showed an oil dominated by 4a\(\alpha\),7\(\alpha\),7a\(\alpha\)-repetalactone (84%) and minor sesquiterpenes [35]. Iranian oils frequently include 4a\(\alpha\),7\(\alpha\),7a\(\beta\)-repetalactone as the main component [37; 41; 43], while Crimean samples are composed of neepetalactone, citronellol, geraniol, and carophyllene oxide [42]. Turkish wild cathip at flowering showed high levels of various neepetalactone isomers and thymol [53]. Iranian Lemon cathip leaves are rich in monoterpenes, such as geraniol, nerol, citronellol, and geraniol, but lack detectable neepetalactone [54]. Korean wild leaves were rich in neepetalactones (88.8-93.3%), mainly 4a\(\alpha\),7\(\alpha\),7a\(\alpha\), and 7a\(\beta\),7\(\alpha\),7a\(\beta\)[55]. Canadian flowering tops showed a similar dominance of neepetalactones (80.8%), followed by _trans_-caryophyllene [14]. Polish Lemon cathip plants contain high levels of geraniol, nerol, citronellol, geraniol, and neral [22]. Iranian wild plants contain neepetalactones, 1,8-cineo, _trans_-caryophyllene, and citronellyl acetate [56].