IMMUNOMODULATING, ANTI-BACTERIAL AND ANTI-CANCER POTENTIAL OF ZA’ATAR (THYMUS VULGARIS) AND ITS COMBINATION WITH ESSENTIAL OIL (OLIVE AND BALSAM OIL)

Introduction: Thymus vulgaris (za’atar) is one of the most famous and traditional spices of Arab countries. Extracts of Thymus vulgaris (zatar) found to be useful as traditional medicine. The current studies are aiming to further explore the phytoconstituents of Thymus vulgaris and its biological activity. Methodology: The present study investigated the phytochemical constituent of za’atar and fractionated with organic solvents using the classical method. Biological activity was done as an immunomodulatory activity, anti-bacterial, cytotoxic and anti-cancer activity in-vitro. Results: Hundred gram of ethanolic crude extract was prepared from za’atar leaves using classical method and fractionated with organic solvents (n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol) yielding 20 g, 16 g, 8 g and 18 g of each fraction respectively, phytochemical studies showed positive results for alkaloids, carbohydrates/glycosides, tannins, flavonoids, and triterpenes/sterols. All fractions except butanol showed potential immunomodulatory activity. Mild, significant antibacterial activity was found in chloroform fraction. Whereas, ethyl acetate and n-butanol samples exhibited significant activity against E. coli. Our results demonstrated that ethanolic extract of za’atar possesses significant activity against Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus subtilis. Furthermore, for anticancer potential butanol fraction was found to be slightly effective against HeLa cancer cells with percent inhibition of 25%. All the extracts were tested for cytotoxicity and found to be nontoxic to fibroblast cells. Conclusion: Results suggested that za’atar extracts and fractions possess significant biological activity including inhibition of free radical generated during the process of inflammation, bactericidal activity against pathogens and limited anticancer activity with no cytotoxicity. Hence, za’atar could be a lead molecule for the cure of various ailments.