In-vitro assessment of antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of methanol extracts and essential oil of Thymus hirtus sp. algeriensis

Abstract

BackgroundOwing to the complexity of the antioxidant materials and their mechanism of actions, it is obvious that no single testing method is capable of providing a comprehensive picture of the antioxidant profile. The essential oil of the Thymus specie may still possess other important activities in traditional medicine, it can be used in the treatment of fever and cough. This essential oil may also have an anticancer activity.MethodsThe essential oils aerial parts hydrodistilled from Thymus hirtus sp. algeriensis, were characterised by GC/MS analysis and the methanolic extracts were chemically characterized by HPLC method. The essence of thyme was evaluated for its antioxidant and antibacterial activity.ResultThe Terpinen-4-ol are the principal class of metabolites (33.34%) among which 1.8-cineole (19.96%) and camphor (19.20%) predominate. In this study, quantitative values of antioxidant activity of crude methanolic extracts of Thymus hirtus sp. algeriensis were investigated. The essential oils was screened for their antibacterial activity against six common pathogenic microorganisms (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enteridis, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Listeria monocytogenes) by well diffusion method and agar dilution method (MIC). All the essences were found to inhibit the growth of both gram (+) and gram (−) bacteria organisms tested. These activities were correlated with the presence of phenolic compounds in active fractions. HPLC confirmed presence of phenolic compounds in methanol extracts.ConclusionMethanol extracts and essential oils from aerial parts of Thymus hirtus sp. algeriensis, were examined for their potential as antioxidants. The technique for measuring antioxidant activity, which was developed using DPPH, ABTS and β-carotene bleaching, produced results as found in established literatures. The present results indicate clearly that methanol extracts and essential oils from Thymus hirtus sp. algeriensis possess antioxidant properties and could serve as free radical inhibitors or scavengers, acting possibly as primary antioxidants, also their essential oil have an antibacterial effect.

Evaluation of Thymus vulgaris and Thymbra spicata essential oils and plant extracts for chemical composition, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties

“…However, Skendi et al () reported between 34.3 and 70.4 mg GAE/g DW of TPC for Lamiaceae family plant methanol extracts. In contrast, Fatma et al () reported 7.05–8.81 mg GAE/g DW for T. hirtus sp. algeriensis from various locations in Tunisia.…”

“…Tohidi et al () reported between 1.89 and 8.55 mg QUE/g among the 14 Thymus species from Iran and found the highest TFC in T. vulgaris , with 8.55 mg QUE/g. However, in some other studies, the TFC was determined based on rutin equivalent (Fatma et al, ; Miliauskas, Venskutonis, & van Beek, ). Both the TPC and the TFC supplied information about the antioxidant capacity because higher phenolic content is associated with higher antioxidant activity.…”

“…In addition to the essential oils of these plants, hydrophilic fractions also have been studied. Research on extracts of L. family plant chemical has investigated their composition (Martins et al, ; Pereira, Peres, Silva, Domingues, & Cardoso, ) as well as their antioxidant (Martins et al, ; Skendi, Irakli, & Chatzopoulou, ) and antimicrobial properties (Erturk, Tanrikulu, Yavuz, Can, & Cakir, ; Fatma, Mouna, Mondher, & Ahmed, ).…”

Investigating of Phytochemicals, Antioxidant, Antimicrobial and Proliferative Properties of Different Extracts of Thymus spathulifolius Hausskn. and Velen. Endemic Medicinal Plant from Sivas, Turkey

“…is a dwarf shrub, up to 10 cm high, endemic in inner Anatolia, especially distributed in Sivas, growing in wild in open steppe on gypsous or poor fertile calcareous soils [12]. In terms of Pharmacological and phytochemical studies, many Thymus species have been reported for antioxidant, antimicrobial and other biological activities [13][14][15]. In addition, in the search for phytochemicals, plant parts are usually screened for phytochemicals that may be present.…”

Study of the antioxidant activity of Thymus sibthorpii Bentham (Lamiaceae)

“…There is a correlation between the antioxidant activity and the phenolic compounds concentration of the extracts 3 . Thymus extracts behave as superoxide and peroxyl radical scavengers on the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) [4][5][6] and 2,2-azobis-2-amidinepropane (AAPH) systems 3 . Ethanolic, hexane and methanolic Thymus subfraction can be considered with antioxidative properties on the above systems 6 .…”