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GC-MS ANALYSIS OF THYMUS VULGARIS L. AND PTYCHOTIS VERTICILLATA (DESF.) ESSENTIAL OILS: MULTI-BIOACTIVE POTENTIAL AS NATURAL THERAPEUTIC ALTERNATIVES

BOCHRA MEDJADJI ¹,², FATIHA BENAHMED ²*, IMEDEDDINE KADI ³,⁴

1 Department of Biology, Laboratory of Environnement et développement durable (EDD), Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences, University Ahmed Zabana, Burmadia, 48000, Relizane, Algeria
2 Laboratory of Experimental Biotoxicology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Life and Natural Sciences, University of Oran1, Ahmed Ben Bella, 1524 EL M Naouer 31000 Oran, Algeria
3 Laboratory of Fundamental Sciences (LSF), Amar Télidji University of Laghouat, 3000, Laghouat, Algeria
4 Research Centre in Biotechnology (CRBt. 25000), Constantine, Algeria

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This study investigates the antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and insecticidal properties of essential oils (EOs) from Thymus vulgaris L. and Ptychotis verticillata (Desf.) Duby. EOs were obtained through hydrodistillation, with yields of 2.14% from P. verticillata and 1.92% from T. vulgaris. GC-MS analysis identified thymol (46.03%), carvacrol (29.24%) and p-cymene (6.46%) in T. vulgaris, while P. verticillata contained p-cymene (23.20%), limonene (22.01%), thymol (15.41%) and carvacrol (15.45%). Antibacterial tests revealed inhibition zones ranging from 23.10 ± 0.62 mm to 46.93 ± 0.40 mm, with P. verticillata displaying broader activity. Anti-inflammatory evaluations demonstrated dose-dependent inhibition, with T. vulgaris showing superior activity (70.2 ± 0.80% haemolysis inhibition at 500 μg/mL compared to 65.5 ± 1.35% for P. verticillata). Insecticidal tests against Aphis spiraecola indicated mortality dependent on concentration and time, reaching 72.37% (T. vulgaris) and 48.32% (P. verticillata) after 24 hours. These bioactivities are associated with phenolic compounds such as thymol and carvacrol. The findings highlight the potential of P. verticillata and T. vulgaris essential oils as natural alternatives to synthetic antibiotics, anti-inflammatory agents and pesticides. Further research is required to isolate active constituents and optimise formulations for practical application.