Chemical composition and bioactivity of essential oils from flower and fruit of Thymbra capitata and Thymus species

Thymbra capitata and Thymus species are commonly known as thyme in Spain and they are currently used as culinary herbs, as well as for ornamental, aromatizing and traditional medicinal purposes. Given the economic importance of thyme oils, many thyme species have been studied, and their essential oils (EOs) and other volatile-containing extracts have been chemically characterized. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities as well as the phytochemical composition of the EOs from fruits and flowers of T. capitata and Thymus species. High antioxidant capacity has been observed and related to the relative amounts of terpenoid and phenolic with good antioxidant properties. The antioxidant activities decreased as follows: TAC > TZ > TC > TM. The results of antimicrobial activity showed that all tested EOs were active against all tested microbial species, including Gram-positive and negative bacteria. The minimum inhibition concentration values obtained ranged from 0.1 to 0.01 μL/mL. Furthermore, all EOs assayed induced cell death in both human epitheloid cervix carcinoma and histiocytic leukemia cell lines. Overall, the results of this study indicates that the EOs from fruits and flowers of T. capitata and Thymus species posses interesting antioxidant properties and represent a potential source of medicine for the treatment of infectious diseases and cancer.