Abstract Background Over the past decade, researchers have been exploring the potential therapeutic benefts of volatile oils (VOs) in addressing various disorders, particularly those associated with an increase in fungal infections. This study aimed to analyze the chemical compositions of three diferent thyme species growing in Palestine using gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC–MS) and explore their antifungal characteristics. The thyme species inves‑ tigated in this research encompass Origanum syriacum L., Clinopodium serpyllifolium subsp. fruticosum (L.) Bräuchler, and Thymbra capitata (L.) Cav. Methods The VOs of the investigated plants were extracted by hydrodistillation technique equipped with Cleav‑ enger apparatus and characterized by utilizing GC–MS equipment. Moreover, the extracted VOs were evaluated for their antifungal activity using the broth microdilution assay against several clinically isolated Candida species and one ATCC strain. Results The GC–MS characterization results of O. syriacum VO revealed the presence of 22 components and the abundant molecules were thymol (37.36%), carvacrol (27.71%), γ-terpinene (17.47%), and p-cymene (7.80%), while 19 compounds were characterized in the C. serpyllifolium VO and the major components were p-cymene (37.58%), carvacrol (22.93%), and γ-terpinene (21.91%). In addition, 23 compounds were identifed in T. capitata VO and the main components were carvone (59.45%), pulegone (21.59%), menthone (4.24%), and isomenthone (3.71%). According to the antifungal assay results, VO extracted from O. syriacum has the highest activity among all the screened VOs. Conclusion All the VOs screened in this study exhibit promising antifungal activities for various potential medical applications. Consequently, we strongly advocate for further biological investigations of these oils in the near future. Keywords Origanum syriacum, Clinopodium serpyllifolium subsp. fruticosum, Thymbra capitata, Volatile oils, AntiCandida.

Title

Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture

Publisher

Springer International Publishing

Publisher Country

Switzerland

Indexing

Scopus

Impact Factor

4.8

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

9

Year

2023

Pages

87