Exploring the metabolite composition and biological activities of Thymus canoviridis via volatile and non-volatile fraction analysis

TL;DR

This study explores the chemical composition and health benefits of Thymus canoviridis, a plant native to Türkiye, showing it has strong antioxidant, antimicrobial, and enzyme-inhibiting properties useful for food preservation.

Contribution

The study provides a detailed chemical and biological profile of Thymus canoviridis, emphasizing its high carvacrol and rosmarinic acid content and their functional food applications.

Findings

The essential oil of Thymus canoviridis contains 99.9% carvacrol, making it a potent natural preservative.

Rosmarinic acid is the dominant phenolic compound in both aerial and root extracts of the plant.

The essential oil and root extract show strong antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, with potential for functional food applications.

Abstract

Thymus canoviridis, an endemic species in Türkiye, was studied for its chemical composition and biological activities, with emphasis on food-related applications. GC-MS analysis of the essential oil from aerial parts revealed an exceptionally high carvacrol content (99.9%), highlighting its potential as a natural preservative. LC-MS/MS profiling of ethanol extracts (aerial and root) identified rosmarinic acid as the dominant phenolic (885.53 ± 7.25 μg/g in aerial part; 721.08 ± 6.14 μg/g in root), along with notable levels of apigenin and quinic acid. The aerial extract showed higher total phenolic (114.39 ± 1.86 mg PEs/g) and flavonoid contents (47.80 ± 0.94 mg QE/g) than the root extract. In vitro antioxidant assays revealed strong activity for both extracts: the root was more active in DPPH (IC50: 24.32 ± 0.84 μg/mL) and CUPRAC (A0.5: 9.99 ± 0.02 μg/mL), while the aerial part extract was superior in ABTS (IC50: 8.36 ± 0.05 μg/mL). The essential oil exhibited outstanding ABTS (IC50: 0.43 ± 0.02 μg/mL) and CUPRAC (A0.5: 3.36 ± 0.07 μg/mL) activity. Enzyme inhibition assays showed strong α-glucosidase inhibition (IC50: 683.35 ± 3.75 μg/mL) by the oil and selective butyrylcholinesterase inhibition (69.61 ± 1.84% at 200 μg/mL). Antimicrobial tests demonstrated significant activity against Candida tropicalis (MIC: 19.53 μg/mL) and Staphylococcus aureus (MIC: 39.06 μg/mL). Taken together, T. canoviridis represents a promising source of bioactive compounds with antioxidant, antimicrobial, and enzyme-inhibitory properties suitable for functional food and clean-label preservation applications.

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