Understanding the potential benefits of thyme and its derived products for food industry and consumer health: From extraction of value-added compounds to the evaluation of bioaccessibility, bioavailability, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities

Abstract

Natural bioactive compounds isolated from several aromatic plants have been studied for centuries due to their unique characteristics that carry great importance in food, and pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. For instance, several beneficial activities have been attributed to some specific compounds found in Thymus such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antiseptic properties. Moreover, these compounds are classified as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) which means they can be used as an ingrident of may food producs. Conventional extraction processes of these compounds and their derived forms from thyme leaves are well established. Hoewever, they present some important drawbacks such as long extraction time, low yield, high solvent consumption and degradation thermolabile compounds. Therefore, innovative extraction techniques such as ultrasound, microwave, enzyme, ohmic and heat-assisted methods can be useful strategies to enhance the exytraction yield and to reduce processing temperature, extraction time, and energy and solvent consumption. Furthermore, bioaccessibility and bioavailability aspects of these bioactive compounds as well as their metabolic fates are crucial for developing novel functional foods. Additionally, immobilization methods to improve stability, solubility, and the overall bioavailability of these valuable compounds are necessary for their commercial applications. This review aims to give an overall perspective of innovative extraction techniques to extract the targeted compounds with anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities. Moreover, the bioaccessi-bility and bioavailability of these compounds before and after processing discussed. In addition, some of the most important characteristics of thyme and their derived products discussed in this paper.

Prospective Applications of Cold Plasma for Processing Poultry Products: Benefits, Effects on Quality Attributes, and Limitations

“…These precautions could be combined with selecting appropriate carrier gas composition to limit the oxidation reactions (Gavahian, Chu, Mousavi Khaneghah, et al, 2018). Incorporation of antioxidant compounds (for example, essential oils) is also suggested as a technique to reduce the possibility of lipid oxidation during plasma treatment (Gavahian, Chu, & Sastry, 2018;Gavahian, Hashemi, Mousavi Khaneghah, & Mazaheri Tehrani, 2013;Lorenzo et al, 2018).…”

“…For example, chemical preservatives introduce harmful compounds into the food products that are associated with health problems (Carocho, Morales, & Ferreira, 2015). It was reported that consumers are reluctant to use the food products that are prepared with chemical preservatives (Lorenzo et al, 2018). Natural preservatives may negatively affect the sensory properties of products (Gavahian, Hashemi, Mousavi Khaneghah, & Mazaheri Tehrani, 2013;Lorenzo et al, 2018).…”

Antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of burgers with quinoa peptide‐loaded nanoliposomes

“…Synthetic food additives with antioxidative properties (i.e., butylated hydroxytoluene and butylated hydroxyanisole) have been applied to reduce lipid oxidation and further controls of microbial spoilage among different meat products (Akbarirad, Ardabili, Kazemeini, & Mousavi Khaneghah, ; Lorenzo et al, ). However, due to some adverse effects and potential toxicities, serious concerns regarding their consumption were raised demonstrated (Jiang & Xiong, ; Pokorný, ).…”

Composition, Antifungal, Phytotoxic, and Insecticidal Activities of Thymus kotschyanus Essential Oil

“…Other Thymus species, such as T. carnosus, T. pubescens, and T. persicus, showed values of thymol between 14% and 36% [10][11][12]. In addition to thymol, in some of these species, authors also observed high contents of other compounds, such as p-cymene (21.3%) [12], carvacrol (48.8%) [11], and geraniol (9.4%) [10].On the other hand, several EOs and other plant extracts are also used as substitutes for synthetic additives in the food industry [13][14][15], by direct addition [16][17][18][19][20] or by applying as active packaging [21-23], to limit microbial and oxidation degradation of food [24][25][26][27].Over the last decade, T. kotschyanus has gained popularity due to its potential applications, not only in the food industry but also in the pharmaceutical (ascertained antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and expectorant properties) and cosmetic industries, as components of soaps, toothpastes, and perfumes [1,[28][29][30]. In addition, the management of crop pests and diseases is a constant and necessary concern in agricultural and food industries.…”

“…Over the last decade, T. kotschyanus has gained popularity due to its potential applications, not only in the food industry but also in the pharmaceutical (ascertained antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and expectorant properties) and cosmetic industries, as components of soaps, toothpastes, and perfumes [1,[28][29][30]. In addition, the management of crop pests and diseases is a constant and necessary concern in agricultural and food industries.…”