Chemical Composition of Carvacrol Rich Leaf Essential Oil of Thymus vulgaris from India: Assessment of Antimicrobial, Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Potential

The essential oil of Thymus vulgaris is extensively used in the food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetic and fragrance industries. The present work was carried out to analyse the chemical constituents of T. vulgaris leaf essential oil of Western Himalayan (India) origin and study its antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic potential. The analysis of the essential oil through GC-MS led to the identification of a total of 27 compounds representing 99.11 % of the total oil showing carvacrol (45.53 %) as the predominant constituent followed by o-cymene (11.29 %), linalool (9.60 %), diethyl phthalate (8.48 %) and thymol (6.12 %). The antioxidant study of the essential oil through DPPH and FRAP assay exhibited IC50 value and EC50 value as 1.71 +/- 0.02 and 1.032 +/- 0.01 mu g/ml respectively. Essential oil revealed strong antibacterial activity against nine food spoiling pathogenic bacteria with MIC values ranging from 0.02 to 1.56 mu g/ml. Cytotoxic study of essential oil revealed moderate cytotoxic activity as evaluated by MTT assay with IC50 value of 135.46 and 98.59 mu g/mL respectively for HepG-2 and PC-3 cancerous cell lines. The present paper with confirmatory evidence of significant bioactivity of carvacrol-rich leaf essential oil of T. vulgaris from India ascertained its therapeutic value for health benefits.

Automated summary

The essential oil of Thymus vulgaris from Western Himalayan region in India is rich in carvacrol and exhibits strong antioxidant and antibacterial properties, as well as moderate cytotoxic activity against cancer cell lines. These findings confirm the therapeutic potential of T. vulgaris leaf essential oil for health benefits.