Chemical Composition, α-Glucosidase Inhibitory and Anticancer Activity of Essential Oil of Thymus vulgaris Leaves

Abstract

Dietary herbs are used for imparting flavour, aroma, and piquancy to foods. Besides their role in improving food quality, spices also have health benefits, such as anticancer, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, hypolipidemic, analgesic, immunostimulant, etc. Thymus vulgaris (family: Lamiaceae) is a valuable medicinal herb known for its health benefits. The essential oil from T. vulgaris was isolated by the hydrodistillation method, and chemical constituents in it were determined by GC-MS. Anticancer activity was determined using a DNA ladder assay, and antidiabetic activity was accessed by α-glucosidase inhibition. The GC-MS analysis showed the presence of 16 chemical constituents, and thymol (55.88 %), linalool (13.71 %), carvacrol (8.36 %), and p-cymene (6.00 %) were found as major components. The antidiabetic activity of T. vulgaris essential oil showed potent inhibition of α-glucosidase enzyme with an IC50 value 125.1±4.25 μg/mL. The anticancer activity results revealed that treating MCF-7 cells with 100 μg/mL essential oil of thyme produces DNA fragmentation and promotes apoptosis. The current study provides a scientific basis for its possible use in controlling diabetes and breast cancer. The study further expands the knowledge of T. vulgaris chemical composition and provides evidence of ethnomedicinal use of the plant by exploring antidiabetic and anticancer activities.