A mini-review of Thymol incorporated materials: Applications in antibacterial wound dressing

In recent decades, herbal extracts have been widely considered for various medicinal purposes and, in particular, wound healing applications. In this regard, Thymol (2-isopropyl-5-methyl phenol), as a natural phenolic monoterpene found in essential oils mainly derived from Thymus, Origanum, and Coridithymus, is one of the nature-based compounds with healing abilities. Indeed, owing to its several therapeutic properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, local anesthetic, antinociceptive, cicatrizing, antiseptic, and particularly antibacterial and antifungal, it has attracted much more attention in biomedical applications. Among the mentioned remarkable properties, Thymol activity against bacterial growth is the main focus of this review. Here, we briefly overview the biological activity of Thymol with a focus on Thymol-incorporated wound dressings for localized antibacterial therapy.