Chemical composition, oral acute toxicity and anti-inflammatory activity of Thymus hirtus Willd. essential oil

This study aimed to determine the chemical composition of Thymus hirtus essential oil and to assess its acute toxicity and anti-inflammatory potential. This essential oil extracted by hydrodistillation from the leaves has a yield of 2.08 ± 0.5 %. The identification of its chemical composition was conducted using both GC-FID and GC-MS. Fifty-four constituents were detected, representing 98.53 % of the essential oil's composition. The major constituents were : thymol (48.5 %) and carvacrol (17.75 %). The oral acute toxicity of this essential oil was evaluated in mice by administering single doses ranging from 50 to 2000 mg/kg. The lethal dose (LD50) obtained was equal to 875 mg/kg. The anti-inflammatory activity was assessed using carrageenan-induced paw edema test in mice. A notable reduction of paw edema was obtained at dose of 50 mg/kg (50.9 %) and 100 mg/kg (65.6 %). The reported anti-inflammatory activity represents a significant initial outcome, underscoring the relevance of this work and paving the way for future investigations to validate and extend these findings.