Abstract
A new Thymus vulgaris L. solid essential oil (SEO) formulation composed of liquid EO linked to solid excipients has been chemically analysed and evaluated for its intestinal spasmolytic and antispastic effects in ex vivo ileum and colon of guinea pig and compared with liquid EO and excipients. Liquid EO and solid linked EO were analysed by original capillary electrochromatography coupled to diode array detection (CEC-DAD) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methodologies. The main bioactive constituents are thymol and carvacrol, with minor constituents for a total of 12 selected analysed compounds. Liquid EO was the most effective in decreasing basal contractility in ileum and colon; excipients addiction permitted normal contractility pattern in solid linked EO SEO. In ileum and colon, the Thymus vulgaris L. solid formulation exerted the relaxant activity on K+-depolarized intestinal smooth muscle as well as liquid EO. The solid essential oil exhibits antimicrobial activity against different strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Salmonella Thyphimurium, Candida albicans) similarly to liquid oil, with activity against pathogen, but not commensal strains (Bifidobacterium Breve, Lactobacillus Fermentum) in intestinal homeostasis. Therefore, Thymus vulgaris L. solid essential oil formulation can be proposed as a possible spasmolytic and antispastic tool in medicine.
Highlights
In traditional medicine, humans have greatly benefited from plants and their secondary metabolites
Plants have been used for their properties occasionally attributed to their secondary metabolites, but interest is due to essential oils (EOs) diffused in or obtained from the surface of plant organs, their aerial parts—flowers and leaves
In order to effectively analyse the content of representative compounds in Thymus EO and EO-based formulations, original capillary electrochromatography coupled to diode array detection (CEC-DAD) and LC-MS/MS methodologies were optimised and fully validated
Summary
Humans have greatly benefited from plants and their secondary metabolites. (common thyme), one of the 10 most widely traded EOs in the world. Among all the EOs used in the therapeutic field, there is a growing commercial interest in the EO of Thymus vulgaris L. It is an aromatic and medicinal plant. The traditional and the therapeutic use, supported by in vitro studies, has shown that Thymus and its derivatives present a wide biological spectrum—antioxidant [4,5], antibacterial [5,6], antifungal [7], and muscle antispasmodic activities [8]
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