University of Montenegro, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Department of Biology, Podgorica 81000, Montenegro.
Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Belgrade 11000, Serbia.
Fitoterapia. 2024 Apr;174:105871. doi: 10.1016/j.fitote.2024.105871. Epub 2024 Feb 28.
The essential oils of Thymus vulgaris (TVEO) and Thymus serpyllum (TSEO) show different biological activities. The aim of the study was to evaluate the biological activities of TVEO and TSEO from Montenegro. The main components of TVEO were p-cymene (29.52%), thymol (22.8%) and linalool (4.73%) while the main components of TSEO were p-cymene (19.04%), geraniol (11,09%), linalool (9.16%), geranyl acetate (6.49%) and borneol (5.24%). Antioxidant activity determined via DPPH for TVEO was 4.49 and FRAP 1130.27, while for TSEO it was estimated that DPPH was 4.88 μL/mL and FRAP was 701.25 μmol FRAP/L. Both essential oils were active against all tested bacteria, with the highest level of sensitivity of E. coli with MIC of 1.5625 μL/mL. Essential oils showed strong cytotoxic effects on human cancer cell lines, with IC50 values ranging from 0.20 to 0.24 μL/mL for TVEO and from 0.32 to 0.49 μL/mL for TSEO. TVEO caused apoptosis in cervical adenocarcinoma HeLa cells through activation of caspase-3 and caspase-8, while TSEO caused apoptosis through caspase-3. EOs decreased levels of oxidative stress in normal MRC-5 cells. HeLa cells treated with TVEO had reduced MMP2 expression levels, while cells treated with TSEO had lowered MMP2 and MMP9 levels. The treatment of HeLa cells with TVEO increased the levels of miR-16 and miR-34a, indicating potential tumor-suppressive properties. Our findings suggest that Thymus essential oils may be considered as good candidates for further investigation as cancer-chemopreventive and cancer-therapeutic agents.
香芹酚和麝香草酚精油显示出不同的生物活性。本研究的目的是评估来自黑山的香芹酚和麝香草酚精油的生物活性。TVEO 的主要成分是对伞花烃（29.52%）、百里酚（22.8%）和芳樟醇（4.73%），而 TSEO 的主要成分是对伞花烃（19.04%）、香叶醇（11.09%）、芳樟醇（9.16%）、乙酸香叶酯（6.49%）和龙脑（5.24%）。通过 DPPH 测定 TVEO 的抗氧化活性为 4.49 和 FRAP 1130.27，而 TSEO 的 DPPH 活性估计为 4.88 μL/mL 和 FRAP 为 701.25 μmol FRAP/L。两种精油均对所有测试的细菌具有活性，大肠杆菌的敏感性最高，MIC 为 1.5625 μL/mL。精油对人癌细胞系表现出强烈的细胞毒性作用，TVEO 的 IC50 值范围为 0.20 至 0.24 μL/mL，TSEO 的 IC50 值范围为 0.32 至 0.49 μL/mL。TVEO 通过激活 caspase-3 和 caspase-8 诱导宫颈腺癌 HeLa 细胞凋亡，而 TSEO 通过 caspase-3 诱导凋亡。EOs 降低正常 MRC-5 细胞的氧化应激水平。用 TVEO 处理的 HeLa 细胞 MMP2 表达水平降低，而用 TSEO 处理的细胞 MMP2 和 MMP9 水平降低。用 TVEO 处理 HeLa 细胞增加了 miR-16 和 miR-34a 的水平，表明其具有潜在的肿瘤抑制特性。我们的研究结果表明，香芹酚和麝香草酚精油可能被认为是进一步作为癌症化学预防和癌症治疗剂的良好候选物。
