Pharmacological, biological and phytochemical aspects of Thymus munbyanus Boiss. & Reut.: A review

Abstract

Thymus munbyanus Boiss. & Reut., is a small shrub endemic to Morocco and Algeria, and it is commonly used to treat several diseases, including diges-tive, circulatory, genital, skin, urinary, nervous and respiratory diseases. The extracts of this thyme are rich in a wide variety of phenolic compounds such as polyphenols and volatile phenols and exhibit numerous biological activi-ties. The present review summarizes the literature investigations reported on Thymus munbyanus concerning various pharmacological and biological properties as well as phytochemical aspects. This species revealed a rich-ness in phenolic compounds in its volatile oils, including thymol and car-vacrol, as well as in its non-volatile extracts including phenolic acids phe-nolic acids (rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid, salvianolic acid, ferulic acid, etc.), flavonoids (luteolin, gallocatechin, quercetin, isorhamnetin, etc.). Moreover, powerful antioxidant and antimicrobial properties were reported for this Thymus species, which are attributed to its richness in bioactive antioxi-dants. Furthermore, this thyme was found to possess important nephropro-tective, hepatoprotective, and tumor cytotoxic properties. In conclusion, Thymus munbyanus is an important natural source of bioactive phenolic compounds that can be used for developing alternative natural drugs for the treatment and prevention of several pathologies.