Analysis of Thymus fedtschenkoi var. handelii (Ronniger), a natural provider of ursolic and oleanolic acids with significant pharmaceutical value

Abstract

The increasing interest in Thymus species is due to their rich phytochemical content and traditional medicinal uses. Thymus fedtschenkoi var. handelii, an endemic and rarely investigated plant, has been studied only for its essential oil. This study aimed to investigate the chemical and biological properties of the essential oil (EO) and ethanol extract (EE) of T. fedtschenkoi var. handelii. The phenolic content of the species was evaluated using LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/FID was used to analyze the chemical structure of triterpenoids, EO and aroma. Moreover, the cytotoxic and antioxidant properties as well as the suppression of tyrosinase, Hmg-CoA reductase, elastase, urease, angiotensin, and collagenase enzymes were investigated. Linalool (33.92%) and thymol (11.02%) in the EO and α-pinene (17.06%) and eucalyptol (16.20%) in the aroma were determined to be high. The species’ root and aerial component EE shown strong antioxidant activity, particularly in the ABTS, DPPH, and CUPRAC techniques. In the enzyme inhibition studies, the aerial parts and root EE showed high urease enzyme activity (80.84 ± 2.31% and 45.01 ± 0.24 at 100 µg/mL, respectively). Based on LC-MS/MS and GC-MS data, it was determined that the root of the species contained notably high concentrations of rosmarinic acid (9308.04 µg analyte/g extract), while the aerial parts contained quinic (5453.32), malic (2326.19), ursolic (145866.04), betulinic (13296.75) and oleanolic (42465.91) acids. Rich in secondary metabolites like linalool, rosmarinic acid, oleanolic acid, and ursolic acid, and exhibiting notable antioxidant and urease enzyme inhibition capacities, the species holds promise as a source of economically valuable compounds for diverse industries.