Antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of the essential oils from Thymbra capitata and Thymus Species grown in Portugal

Miguel, Maria; Gago, Custódia; Antunes, Maria Dulce; Megias, Cristina; Cortes-Giraldo, Isabel; Vioque, Javier; Sofia Lima, A.; Cristina Figueiredo, A.

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/12022

Use this identifier to reference this record.

Name:	Description:	Size:	Format:
12022.pdf		1.39 MB	Adobe PDF	Download

Send Feedback

Authors

Cortes-Giraldo, Isabel

Vioque, Javier

Sofia Lima, A.

Cristina Figueiredo, A.

Abstract(s)

The antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of the essential oils from Thymbra capitata and Thymus species grown in Portugal were evaluated. Thymbra and Thymus essential oils were grouped into two clusters: Cluster I in which carvacrol, thymol, p-cymene, alpha-terpineol, and gamma-terpinene dominated and Cluster II in which thymol and carvacrol were absent and the main constituent was linalool. The ability for scavenging ABTS(center dot+) and peroxyl free radicals as well as for preventing the growth of THP-1 leukemia cells was better in essential oils with the highest contents of thymol and carvacrol. These results show the importance of these two terpene-phenolic compounds as antioxidants and cytotoxic agents against THP-1 cells.