Analysis of the Chemical Components Found in The Volatile Oils of Thymus vulgaris and Lavandula angustifolia and Their Antiviral Properties: A Case Study of Russia

Abstract

Herbal medicines are natural remedies derived from plants or plant extracts. They have been used for thousands of years in traditional medicine and are still widely used today as alternative treatments for various health conditions. In this study, the antiviral effects of the volatile oils of Thymus vulgaris and Lavandula angustifolia were examined separately after identifying the constituents of the volatile oils of these two plants. Two plants, Thymus vulgaris and Lavandula angustifolia, grown in the open air, were collected from the surrounding plains of Mirny and Ust-Ilimsk cities in Russia, respectively. Using a Clevenger apparatus, the oil was independently extracted from each plant by distillation with water. By using gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS), the obtained volatile oil was examined. The antiviral effects of these two plants' essential oils were then studied independently on herpes simplex virus (HSV-1). These viruses can quickly multiply on HeLa or HEp-2 cancer cells and produce effects that specifically cause cytopathic effect. In the essential oil of the Lavandula angustifolia, 24 compounds including thymol, carvacrol, p-Cymene and caryophyllene were identified. In the essential oil of Thymus vulgaris, 27 substances including terpenin-4-L, p-cymene, γ-terpinene and sabinene were identified. Also, the antiviral effects of the volatile oil of these two plants were investigated separately with a concentration of 10^-4 on HeLa cells infected with HSV-1, and the result was negative.