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The significance of Thymus species in the scientific community is growing steadily due to their extensive utilization in traditional medicine, food industry, and pharmaceutical sector, owing to their abundance in essential oil and phytochemical content, rendering them commercially significant species. The current work focuses on conducting a comprehensive analysis of the ethanol extract and essential oil derived from the root and aerial portions of Thymus brachychilus Jalas, an endemic species that has not been previously investigated. Additionally, a novel GC-MS (gas chromatography–mass spectrometry) technique was developed to quantify the levels of triterpenoids, which are frequently found in many plants, particularly those belonging to the Lamiaceae family. The approach was then used to assess the triterpenoid content of the species. While the phenolic content of the species was determined by LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry), the chemical composition of triterpenoid, essential oil and flavor (aroma) of the plant was determined by GC-MS. Eucalyptol was the primary ingredient in both the essential oil and the flavor, accounting for 11.05% and 12.35%, respectively. In the DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging techniques, the root ethanol extract exhibited the greatest antioxidant activity with IC50 values of 26.70 ± 0.23 and 19.16 ± 0.11 µg/mL, respectively. There was a high level of urease (59.54 ± 1.67% at 100 µg/mL) inhibitory activity observed in the root ethanol extract in enzyme inhibition assays, as well as angiotensin (94.80 ± 0.56%), elastase (40.19 ± 0.39%), and collagenase (48.26 ± 0.12%) inhibition in the aerial ethanol extract. Moreover, the MCF-7 cell line for breast cancer had a strong cytotoxic impact when exposed to the essential oil of the species (vitality%: 1.45 ± 0.01 at 200 µg/mL. The LC-MS/MS and GC-MS studies revealed that the roots had a significant concentration of rosmarinic acid (15,801 µg analyte/g extract), but the aerial portions had a substantial quantity of ursolic acid (152,374 µg analyte/g extract). The plant exhibits potential in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical sectors on account of its elevated levels of rosmarinic and ursolic acid, superior antioxidant capacity, and angiotensin and urease inhibitory effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: The importance of Hypericum species that are used traditionally against many diseases is increasing day by day. Methods: In this study, the essential oil contents of Hypericum triquetrifolium, H. empetrifolium subsp. empetrifolium, and H. pruinatum species were determined with GC-MS/FID. This is the first study on the antioxidant, anticholinesterase, antiurease, antityrosinase, antielastase, and anticollagenase activities of these species. Also, in silico and in vitro enzyme inhibitory activities of the major compounds in the essential oil samples of the species have been evaluated. In addition, the cytotoxic effects of the essential oils were determined by the MTT method. Results: According to GC-MS/FID results, the major compounds were determined as caryophyllene oxide (16.76%) for H. triquetrifolium, α-pinene (21.67%) for H. empetrifolium subsp. empetrifolium, and germacrene D (22.47%) for H. pruinatum. Especially, H. pruinatum sample showed a high cytotoxic effect (IC50: 34.78±0.22 and 29.06±0.40 μg/mL, respectively) on HT-29 and MCF-7 cell lines. It was determined that the same sample showed a promising inhibitory activity on acetyl (18.33±2.79, 36.48±2.40, and 56.97±0.94, respectively) and butyryl (71.63±2.78, 73.88±1.16, and 56.97±0.97, respectively) cholinesterase enzymes. Conclusion: Results of the in-vitro activity studies indicated that H. pruinatum essential oil could be used in the pharmaceutical industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]