Sun Meiyu, Miao Jiahui, Zhang Yanan, Hao Yuanpeng, Zhang Jinzheng, Li Hui, Bai Hongtong, Shi Lei
State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China.
China National Botanical Garden, Beijing, 100093, China.
BMC Plant Biol. 2025 Jan 9;25(1):33. doi: 10.1186/s12870-024-06015-2.
Thyme and oregano essential oils (EOs) and their components have numerous applications in the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries owing to their antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and immunological properties. We attempted to create new chemotypes through the hybridization of thyme and oregano for functional EO research and product development. Here, we used interspecific hybridization to create new thyme and oregano germplasms with new EO chemotypes. The antioxidant activities of these new chemotype EOs were verified by DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP analyses. We determined that there are five types of thyme hybrid EOs: geraniol-type, carvacrol-type, thymol-type, parent polymerization-type, and α-terpineol/α-terpinyl acetate-type. Moreover, there are five types of oregano hybrid EOs: carvacrol-type, thymol-type, sabinene hydrate-type, parent polymerization-type, and carvacrol/sabinene hydrate-type. The geraniol, thymol, and carvacrol contents ranged from 30.45%, 1.21% and 0.00%, respectively, in the parents to 81.66%, 52.65%, and 46.16%, respectively, in the thyme hybrids. The carvacrol and thymol contents ranged from 2.33% to 24.18%, respectively, in the parents to 94.16% and 76.77%, respectively, in the oregano hybrids, indicating obvious heterosis. We further used three antioxidant assays, DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP, to analyse the antioxidant activity of thyme and oregano hybrid EO samples. The antioxidant capacities of carvacrol- and thymol-type EOs were significantly superior to those of other chemotypes. Our data suggest that carvacrol- and thymol-type EOs with greater antioxidant potential can be applied in many industries. In addition, the function of high geraniol-type thyme EO should be further researched. The results will also be very useful for the selection of new varieties, functional research on carvacrol-, thymol-, and geraniol-type essential oils, and product development of feed additives, cosmetics, etc.
百里香和牛至精油及其成分由于具有抗氧化、抗菌、抗真菌、抗炎、抗病毒和免疫特性，在制药、食品和化妆品行业有众多应用。我们试图通过百里香和牛至的杂交来创造新的化学型，以进行功能性精油研究和产品开发。在此，我们利用种间杂交创造了具有新精油化学型的新百里香和牛至种质。通过DPPH、ABTS和FRAP分析验证了这些新化学型精油的抗氧化活性。我们确定有五种类型的百里香杂交精油：香叶醇型、香芹酚型、百里酚型、亲本聚合型和α-萜品醇/乙酸α-萜品酯型。此外，有五种类型的牛至杂交精油：香芹酚型、百里酚型、水合桧烯型、亲本聚合型和香芹酚/水合桧烯型。香叶醇、百里酚和香芹酚的含量在亲本中分别为30.45%、1.21%和0.00%，在百里香杂交种中分别为81.66%、52.65%和46.16%。香芹酚和百里酚的含量在亲本中分别为2.33%至24.18%，在牛至杂交种中分别为94.16%和76.77%，表明存在明显的杂种优势。我们进一步使用三种抗氧化测定方法，即DPPH、ABTS和FRAP，来分析百里香和牛至杂交精油样品的抗氧化活性。香芹酚型和百里酚型精油的抗氧化能力明显优于其他化学型。我们的数据表明，具有更大抗氧化潜力的香芹酚型和百里酚型精油可应用于许多行业。此外，高香叶醇型百里香精油的功能应进一步研究。这些结果对于新品种的选育、香芹酚型、百里酚型和香叶醇型精油的功能研究以及饲料添加剂、化妆品等产品的开发也将非常有用。
