Evaluation of Antioxidant Activity and Cytotoxic Potential of Thymus vulgaris Leaf Extracts doi.org/10.26538/tjnpr/v5i8.11

Main Article Content

Neran A. Thamer
Alyaa H. Hammadi
Muna Mohammed Yaseen

Abstract

Thymus vulgaris is a most important medicinal plant, it is rich in bioactive secondary metabolites. The leaves are used for the treatment of several diseases. In the present study, the antioxidant activity and cytotoxic potential of T. vulgaris leaf extracts were evaluated. Leaf extracts were prepared using cold and hot procedures with varied polarity solvents (chloroform, acetone, ethanol, and aqueous methanol [50% v/v]). The total phenol content (TPC) and antioxidant potential of the extracts were determined. The leaf extracts were fractionated using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy (GC/MS), and the acetone extract's cytotoxic effects on breast cancer cell lines were assessed. The results indicated that the aqueous methanol extract (hot method) had the highest TPC (76.45 ± 2.88 mg/g of dry plant content of gallic acid equivalence [mgGAEg-1 ]), while the lowest TPC was obtained in the chloroform extract (cold method; 37.36 ± 2.45 mgGAEg-1 ). The maximum antioxidant activity was observed in the ethanol extract (hot method; 83.9% ± 0.96), while a minimum value was recorded for the acetone extract (hot; 66.3% ± 0.71) at a concentration of 100 μg/mL. GC/MS analysis revealed the presence of phenolic compounds such as p-Cymen-3-ol, p-Cymen-2-ol, 2,5-diethylphenol, 6- ethyl-3, 4-dimethylphenol, 7,11-dimethyldodeca-2,6,10-trien-1-ol thymol and some flavonoids. The acetone extract showed an anticancer effect on the MCF-7 and Cal-51 breast cancer cell lines, as well as the HBL-100 normal cell line. The results of this study provide scientific justification for the medicinal use of T. vulgaris leaf extracts that contained various polyphenol components; it has strong antioxidant and antitumor activity. 

Article Details

How to Cite
A. Thamer, N., H. Hammadi, A., & Mohammed Yaseen, M. (2021). Evaluation of Antioxidant Activity and Cytotoxic Potential of Thymus vulgaris Leaf Extracts: doi.org/10.26538/tjnpr/v5i8.11. Tropical Journal of Natural Product Research (TJNPR), 5(8), 1389–1396. Retrieved from https://tjnpr.org/index.php/home/article/view/456
Section
Articles

References

Li YM, Huang JH, Lu JY, Ding YF, Jiang L, Hu SH, Chen J, Zeng QH. The role and mechanism of Asian medicinal plants in treating skin pigmentary disorders. J Ethnopharmacol. 2019; 245(5):112-173.

Mohseni S and Rad AS. Determination of compositions of Thymus pubescens: The comparison of different solvents towards extraction. Iran J Sci Technol Trans A-Sci. 2018;42(A4):1923-1928.

Trindade H, Pedro LG, Figueiredo AC, Barroso JG. Chemotypes and terpene synthase genes in Thymus genus: State of the art. Ind Crop Prod. 2018; 124:530-547.

Ustuner O, Anlas C, Bakirel T, Ustun-Alkan F, Sigirci BD, Ak S, Akpulat HA, Donmez C, Koca-Caliskan U. In vitroevaluation of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and wound healing potential of Thymus sipyleus Boiss. Subsp. Rosulans (Borbas) Jalas. Molecul. 2019; 24(18):33-

Abolghasemi R, Haghighi M, Solgi M, Mobinikhaledi A. Rapid synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles by waste thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.). Int J Environ Sci Technol. 2019;16(11):6985-6990.

Mercado-Mercado G, de la Rosa LA, Alvarez-Parrilla E. Effect of pectin on the interactions among phenolic compounds determined by antioxidant capacity. J Mol Struct. 2020; 1199:1-9

Kooti W, Servatyari K, Behzadifar M, Asadi-Samani M, Sadeghi F, Nouri B, Marzouni HZ. Effective medicinal plant in cancer treatment, part 2: Review study. J Evid -Based Integr Med. 2017; 22(4):982-995.

Chakraborty P. Herbal genomics as tools for dissecting new metabolic pathways of unexplored medicinal plants and drug discovery. Biochim Open. 2018; 6:9-16.

Al-Menhali A, Al-Rumaihi A, Al-Mohammed H, AlMazrooey H, Al-ShamLan M, AlJassim M, Al-Korbi N, Eid AH. Thymus vulgaris (Thyme) inhibits proliferation, adhesion, migration, and invasion of human colorectal cancer cells. J Med Food. 2015; 18(1):54-59.

Chen QR, Xun PC, Tsinovoi CL, Henschel B, Fly AD, He K. Association of herbal/botanic supplement use with quality of life, recurrence, and survival in newly diagnosed stage II colon cancer patients: A 2-y follow-up study. Nutr. 2018; 54(1):1-6.

El-Wakf AM, Elhabibi EM, Mogalli A. Thyme leaves extract Inhibits growth of colon cancer in dietary-induced obese rats via obstructing angiogenesis, inflammation and oxidative pathways. Res J Pharm Biol Chem Sci. 2018; 9(5):635-648.

Kubatka P, Uramova S, Kello M, Kajo K, Samec M, Jasek K, Vybohova D, Liskova A, Mojzis J, Adamkov M, Zubor P, Smejkal K, Svajdlenka E, Solar P, Samuel SM, Zulli A, Kassayova M, Lasabova Z, Kwon TK, Pec M, Danko J, Busselberg D. Anticancer activities of Thymus vulgaris L. in experimental breast carcinoma in vivo and in vitro. Int J Mol Sci. 2019; 20(7):1-29

Gopalasatheeskumar K. Significant role of soxhlet extraction process in phytochemical research. Mintage J Pharmac Med Sci. 2018; 7(l1):43-47.

Nyaberi MO, Onyango CA, Mathooko FM, Maina JM, Makobe M. Determining efficient extraction procedure of phytochemicals from the fruit paste of Ziziphus abyssinicaand Tamarindus indica. J Appl Biosci. 2017; 112 (1):11045-11051.

Singleton VL, Orthofer R, Lamuela-Raventos RM. Analysis of total phenols and other oxidation substrates and antioxidants by means of Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. Meth Enz.1999; 299(2):152-178.

Noreen H, Semmar N, Farman M, McCullagh JSO. Measurement of total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of aerial parts of medicinal plant Coronopus didymus. Asian Pac J Trop Med. 2017; 10(8):855-862.

Zargoosh Z, Ghavam M, Bacchetta G, Tavili A. Effects of ecological factors on the antioxidant potential and total phenol content of Scrophularia striata Boiss Sci Rep.2019; 9(1):16-21.

Es-Safi NE, Kollmann A, Khlifi S, Ducrot PH. Antioxidative effect of compounds isolated from Globularia alypum L. structure-activity relationship. LWTFood Sci Technol. 2007; 40(7):1246-1252.

Dromey RG and Stefik MJ. Extraction of mass spectra free of background and neighbouring component contributions from gas chromatography/mass spectrometry data, Anal Chemi. 1976; 48(9):1368-1375.

Saotome K, Morita H, Umeda M. Cytotoxicity test with simplified crystal violet staining method using microtitre plates and its application to injection drugs. Toxicol in vitro. 1989; 3(4):317-321.

Oussaid S, Chibane M, Madani K, Amrouche T, Achat S, Dahmoune F, Houali K, Rendueles M, Diaz M. Optimization of the extraction of phenolic compounds from Scirpus holoschoenus using a simplex centroid design for antioxidant and antibacterial applications. LWT-Food Sci

Technol. 2017; 86 (1):635-642.

Do QD, Angkawijaya AE, Tran-Nguyen PL, Huynh LH, Soetaredjo FE, Ismadji S, Ju YH. Effect of extraction solvent on total phenol content, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity of Limnophila aromatica, J Food Drug Analy. 2014; 22(3):296-302.

Mohsen SM and Ammar ASM. Total phenolic contents and antioxidant activity of corn tassel extracts. Food Chem.2009; 112(3):595-598.

Aly AA, Ali HGM, Eliwa NER. Phytochemical screening, anthocyanins and antimicrobial activities in some berries fruits. J Food Meas Charact. 2019; 13(2):911-920.

Qasim M, Aziz I, Rasheed M, Gul B, Khan MA. Effect of extraction solvents on polyphenols and antioxidant activity of medical halophytes. Pak J Bot. 2016; 48(2):621-627.

Alasalvar C, Karamac M, Amarowicz R, Shahidi F. Antioxidant and antiradical activities in extracts of hazelnut kernel (Corylus avellana L.) and hazelnut green leafy cover. J Agric Food Chem. 2006; 54(13):4826-4832.

Uma DB, Ho CW, Aida MW. Optimization of extraction parameters of total phenolic compounds from Henna (Lawsonia inermis) leaves. Sains Malays. 2010; 39(1):119-128.

Bhatt A, Naidoo Y, Nicholas A. An investigation of the glandular and non-glandular foliar trichomes of Orthosiphon labiatus NE Br.[Lamiaceae]. New Zeal J Bot. 2010; 48(3-4):153-61.

Jyothi D, Khanam S, Sultana R. Optimization of microwave assisted extraction of withanolides from roots of ashwagandha and its comparison with conventional extraction method. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci. 2010; 2(4):46-50.

Amamra S, Cartea ME, Belhaddad OE, Soengas P, Baghiani A, Kaabi I, Arrar L. Determination of total phenolics contents, antioxidant capacity of Thymus vulgaris extracts using electrochemical and spectrophotometric methods. Int J Electrochem Sci. 2018; 13(8):7882-7893.

Ikram S, Zhang HJ, Ming HY, Wang J. Recovery of major phenolic acids and antioxidant activity of highland barley brewer's spent grains extracts. J Food Process Preserv.2020; 44(1):11-21.

Roby MHH, Sarhan MA, Selim KAH, Khalel KI. Evaluation of antioxidant activity, total phenols and phenolic compounds in thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.), sage (Salvia officinalis L.), and marjoram (Origanum majorana L.) extracts. Ind Crop Prod. 2013; 43:827-831.

Patra JK, Das G, Lee S, Kang SS, Shin HS. Selected commercial plants: A review of extraction and isolation of bioactive compounds and their pharmacological market value. Trends Food Sci. Technol. 2018; 82:89-109.

Hossain MA, Shah MD, Sakari M. Gas chromatographymass spectrometry analysis of various organic extracts of Merremia borneensis from Sabah. Asian Pac J Trop Med.2011; 4(8):637-641.

Al-Menhali A, Al-Rumaihi A, Al-Mohammed H, AlMazrooey H, Al-ShamLan M, AlJassim M, Al-Korbi N, Hussein A. Thymus vulgaris (thyme) inhibits proliferation, adhesion, migration, and invasion of human colorectal cancer cells. J Med Food. 2015; 18(1):54-9.

Heo BG, Park YJ, Park YS, Bae JH, Cho JY, Park K, Jastrzebski Z, Gorinstein S. Anticancer and antioxidant effects of extracts from different parts of indigo plant. Ind Crop Prod. 2014; 56:9-16.

Ami AS, Bhat SH, Hanif S, Hadi SM. Plant polyphenols mobilize endogenous copper in human peripheral lymphocytes leading to oxidative DNA breakage: A putative mechanism for anticancer properties. FEBS Lett. 2006; 580(2):533-538.

Gupta SC, Tyagi AK, Deshmukh-Taskar P, Hinojosa M, Prasad S, Aggarwal BB. Down regulation of tumor necrosis factor and other proinflammatory biomarkers by polyphenols. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2014; 559:91-99.