Chemical composition, Fatty acids profile and Biological properties of Thymus capitatus (L.) Hoffmanns, essential Oil

Amira Zaïri,Mounir Trabelsi,Amani Khélifa,Maher Chaouachi,Sahar Nouir,Amira Zarrouk,Houda Haddad,Lotfi Achour,Frédéric Tangy

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-56580-y

Amira Zaïri, Mounir Trabelsi + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-56580-y

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Abstract

T. capitatus is widely used in traditional medicine in Tunisia. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the phytochemical composition, the fatty acids profile, the antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal activities as well as the cytotoxic potential of the essential oil (EO) of this plant. The identification and the quantification of the different constituents of the tested EO was determined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Antioxidant activities were evaluated by spectrophotometric methods and chemical tests. HCT 116 cells were used to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of the EO. The microdilution method was conducted to evaluate the antibacterial activity. Poisoned food method was used to test the antifungal activities against fungi species such Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus. The EO presented several components, mainly monoterpenes. Results revealed that T. capitatus EO is not cytotoxic and showed excellent antioxidant activity with a dose dependent manner. Regarding antimicrobial activity, T. capitatus EO was efficient against all tested bacteria and fungi.

Highlights

Reactive Oxygen species (ROS) are considered as the most important perpetrators for the spread of multitude of health-related problems
The pharmacological activity of Thymus essential oil (EO) have been evaluated, including antimicrobial properties and antioxidant activity[9,10,11], whereas only minor studies report the bioactivities of the Tunisian T. capitatus EO against a large panel pathogens including bacteria and fungi
We noted that the oxygenated monoterpene carvacrol (65.38%) greatly characterizes the T. capitatus EO being its main constituent

Summary

Introduction

Reactive Oxygen species (ROS) are considered as the most important perpetrators for the spread of multitude of health-related problems. There’s an urgent need to develop antibacterial and antifungal agents to treat fungal and bacterial infections To overcome these opportunistic infections and these sudden outbreaks of oxidative stress, natural products from plant have been intensively explored to provide compounds against a large number of diseases associated to oxidative stress and microorganisms infections[4]. The EOs are qualified as volatile molecules They are considered as the products of specialized secretory structures (differentiated parenchyma cells and glandular hairs) and are synthetized via the secondary metabolism of higher plants[5]. These EO are characterized by several biological activities, such as antioxidant, anticonvulsant, analgesic, anxiolytic, and antimicrobial properties[6]. The first time, the chemical profile of T. capitatus EO, (i) its antimicrobial properties (ii) its safety by determining its cytotoxic properties iii) and its fatty acids profile

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