Chemical composition, acute toxicity, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities of Thymus fontanesii essential oil from Algeria

The aim of the present study was to determine the chemical composition and to evaluate the acute toxicity, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities of Thymus fontanesii essential oils (TFEO). The oils were obtained by hydrodistillation from the aerial parts of T. fontanesii at yield of 2.4±0.2%. Using GC and GC/MS techniques, 24 compounds were identified representing more than 98% of the oil composition. The main constituents were carvacrol (54.7±1.2%), p-cymene (17.5±0.3%) and ɣ-terpinene (8.8±0.6%). Using the disc diffusion and broth microdilution methods against six microbial strains, the antimicrobial evaluation showed that TFEO exhibited good antibacterial activity against all the strains tested except Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The acute toxicity test of TFEO was conducted in mice by gavage in single doses of 100-3000 mg/kg. However, the mortality rate as well as the acute toxicity of the oral administered oil increased progressively with increasing dose (LD50=875mg/kg). Anti-inflammatory activity of TFEO was evaluated using carrageenaninduced paw edema in mice. The paw edema was reduced by the TFEO at doses of 50 mg/kg (22.8%) and 100 mg/kg (62.2%). The TFEO was found to possess potent anti-inflammatory activity.Results of the present study indicate that TFEO has a noteworthy potential for the use in pharmaceutical formulations