Chemical Composition of Thyme Essential Oil and its Anthelmintic Properties

Abstract

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) is a well-known member of the genus Thymus with healing properties known since ancient times. Thyme has application in traditional medicine and pharmaceutical preparations, but also in the food and cosmetic industry. The aim of this study was to examine the chemical composition and in vitro anthelmintic potential of thyme essential oils from Serbia and compare it with sample from France. Chemical characterization of the samples was done by GC-MS and antihelmintic potential of tested samples was evaluated using in vitro egg hatch test on sheep gastrointestinal nematodes (concentration range 0.049-50 mg/mL) for each sample. The most represented compounds in sample from Serbia were: p-cymene (41.72%), thymol (31.59%), α-terpineol (11.71%), linalool (4.37%) and α-pinene (2.47%) and it inhibited egg hatchability for 95.25-100% and in sample from France thymol (54.48%), p-cymene (21.01%), γ-terpinene (8.11%), carvacrol (3.95%) and linalool (2.77%) were the dominant compounds and inhibited egg hatchability for 98.5-100%. The results indicate that chemical composition of thyme essential oil is dependant on geographic origin but regardless it poseses antihelmintic potential and may be used in veterinary medicine as anthelmintic agent.