Exploring the biological activities of Thymus capitatus essential oil

In this study, researchers from Tunisia determined the biochemical components and geographic variability of essential oils derived from Thymus capitatus, commonly known as conehead thyme. Their results were published in the Journal of Essential Oil Research.

• To characterize T. capitatus essential oils, the researchers performed chromatographic analysis using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. They extracted the oils from the aerial parts of conehead thyme collected from four Tunisian regions, namely, Kef, Bizerte, Boukornine and Grombalia.
• The researchers found that carvacrol was the predominant compound in the essential oils, particularly those derived from T. capitatus from the Boukornine region.
• Analysis of the essential oils’ anti-microbial activities showed that their strong antibacterial activity is related to their organoleptic quality. This quality appeared to be region-dependent.
• The T. capitatus essential oils had an inhibitory effect on the growth of bacteria and fungi, particularly Bacillus cerus and Fusarium solani.

Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that T. capitatus essential oil can be used to treat mycotic infections and could serve as pharmaceutical and preservative agents.

Journal Reference:

Tammar S, Salem N, Rebey IB, Sriti J, Hammami M, Khammassi S, Marzouk B, Ksouri R, Msaada K. REGIONAL EFFECT ON ESSENTIAL OIL COMPOSITION AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF THYMUS CAPITATUS L. Journal of Essential Oil Research. 2018;31(2):129–137. DOI: 10.1080/10412905.2018.1539415