Thymus richardii subsp. nitidus (Guss.) Jalas Essential Oil: An Ally against Oral Pathogens and Mouth Health

• Published in: Molecules
• Main Authors: Giusy Castagliuolo, Michela Di Napoli, Alessandro Vaglica, Natale Badalamenti, Dario Antonini, Mario Varcamonti, Maurizio Bruno, Anna Zanfardino, Giuseppe Bazan
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2023
• Subjects: Thymus richardii subsp. nitidus; Lamiaceae; essential oil; β -bisabolene; thymol; antimicrobial; Organic chemistry; QD241-441; Fid; Greenland
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28124803; https://doaj.org/article/d116e8967c0247249a46a20d6643def7

The genus Thymus L., belonging to the Lamiaceae family, contains about 220 species with a distribution that mainly extends in Europe, northwest Africa, Ethiopia, Asia, and southern Greenland. Due to their excellent biological properties, fresh and/or dried leaves and aerial parts of several Thymus ssp. have been utilized in the traditional medicine of many countries. To evaluate not only the chemical aspects but also the biological properties, the essential oils (EOs), obtained from the pre-flowering and flowering aerial parts of Thymus richardii subsp. nitidus (Guss.) Jalas, endemic to Marettimo Island (Sicily, Italy), were investigated. The chemical composition of the EOs, obtained by classical hydrodistillation and GC-MS and GC-FID analyses, showed the occurrence of similar amounts of monoterpene hydrocarbons, oxygenated monoterpenes, and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons. The main constituents of the pre-flowering oil were β- bisabolene (28.54%), p -cymene (24.45%), and thymol methyl ether (15.90%). The EO obtained from the flowering aerial parts showed as principal metabolites β- bisabolene (17.91%), thymol (16.26%), and limonene (15.59%). The EO of the flowering aerial parts, and its main pure constituents, β- bisabolene, thymol, limonene, p -cymene, and thymol methyl ether were investigated for their antimicrobial activity against oral pathogens and for their antibiofilm and antioxidant properties.