The green synthesis of metal nanoparticles is growing dramatically; however, the toxicity of these biosynthesized particles against living organisms is not fully explored. Therefore, this study was designed to synthesize and characterize TiO₂-NPs, encapsulation and characterization thyme essential oil (ETEO), and determination of the bioactive constituents of ETEO using GC-MS and evaluate their protective role against TiO₂-NPs-induced oxidative damage and genotoxicity in rats. Six groups of rats were treated orally for 30 days including the control group, TiO₂-NPs (300 mg/kg b.w)-treated group, ETEO at low (50 mg/kg b.w) or high dose (100 mg/kg b.w)-treated groups, and TiO₂-NPs plus ETEO at the two doses-treated groups. Blood and tissues were collected for different assays. The GC-MS results indicated the presence of 21 compounds belonging to phenols, terpene derivatives, and heterocyclic compounds. The synthesized TiO₂-NPs were 45 nm tetragonal particles with a zeta potential of −27.34 mV; however, ETEO were 119 nm round particles with a zeta potential of −28.33 mV. TiO₂-NPs administration disturbs the liver and kidney markers, lipid profile, cytokines, oxidative stress parameters, the apoptotic and antioxidant hepatic mRNA expression, and induced histological alterations in the liver and kidney tissues. ETEO could improve all these parameters in a dose-dependent manner. It could be concluded that ETEO is a promising candidate for the protection against TiO₂-NPs and can be applied safely in food applications.

Although the green synthesis of nanometals is eco-friendly, the toxicity or safety of these biosynthesized nanoparticles in living organisms is not fully studied. This study aimed to evaluate the potential protective role of encapsulated thyme oil (ETO) against zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs). ETO was prepared using a mixture of whey protein isolate, maltodextrin, and gum Arabic, and ZnO-NPs were synthesized using parsley extract. Six groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated orally for 21 days which included the control group, ZnO-NP-treated group (25 mg/kg body weight (b.w.)), ETO-treated groups at low or high dose (50, 100 mg/kg b.w.), and the groups that received ZnO-NPs plus ETO at the two tested doses. Blood and tissue samples were collected for different assays. The results showed that carvacrol and thymol were the major components in ETO among 13 compounds isolated by GC-MS. ZnO-NPs were nearly spherical and ETOs were round in shape with an average size of 38 and 311.8 nm, respectively. Administration of ZnO-NPs induced oxidative stress, DNA damage, biochemical, ctyogentical, and histological changes in rats. ETO at the tested doses alleviated these disturbances and showed protective effects against the hazards of ZnO-NPs. It could be concluded that encapsulation of thyme oil using whey protein isolate, maltodextrin, and gum Arabic improved the antioxidant properties of ETO, probably possess synergistic effects, and can be used as a promising tool in pharmaceutical and food applications.

In this investigation, collagen hydrolysate (CH) films extracted from hide fleshing wastes were successfully developed using solvent casting method by incorporating different concentrations of thyme essential oil (TO) (2%, 4%, 6%, and 8%) into the CH. Depending on the concentration of TO, thickness, tensile strength (TS), elongation at break (EAB), film solubility (FS), color, opacity, light transmittance, and thermal properties varied. Addition of TO resulted in the increases in the thickness, EAB (%), and light barrier performance of CH–TO films while there was a significant decrease in TS and FS of the CH films (p ≤ 0.05). According to our findings, the increment of TO content induced higher lightness and yellowness but lower redness values compared to CH film. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy was conducted to determine the molecular changes and interactions between CH extracted from hide fleshing wastes and TO. In order to analyze the thermal behavior of the films, differential scanning calorimetry analysis was conducted. Moreover, the structure–property relationships of CH and TO were examined by scanning electron microscopy and a reduction in the compact and homogenous structures of the films containing TO was observed. Promising results have been obtained showing that CH-based films can be used for active packaging purposes, thereby contributing to a significant reduction in the environmental impact of both leather solid waste and plastic packaging materials.

The antifungal activity of seven essential oils (eucalyptus, clove, mint, oregano, savory, tea tree, and thyme) was studied on Venturia inaequalis, the fungus responsible for apple scab. The composition of the essential oils was checked by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Each essential oil had its main compound. Liquid tests were performed to calculate the IC₅₀ of essential oils as well as their majority compounds. The tests were made on two strains with different sensitivities to tebuconazole: S755, the sensitive strain, and rs552, the strain with reduced sensitivity. Copper sulfate was selected as the reference mineral fungicidal substance. IC₅₀ with confidence intervals were calculated after three independent experiments. The results showed that all essential oils and all major compounds had in vitro antifungal activities. Moreover, it was highlighted that the effectiveness of four essential oils (clove, eucalyptus, mint, and savory) was higher than copper sulfate on both strains. For each strain, the best activity was obtained using clove and eucalyptus essential oils. For clove, the IC₅₀ obtained on the sensitive strain (5.2 mg/L [4.0–6.7 mg/L]) was statistically lower than the IC₅₀ of reduced sensitivity strain (14 mg/L [11.1–17.5 mg/L]). In contrast, for eucalyptus essential oil, the IC₅₀ were not different with respectively 9.4–13.0 and 12.2–17.9 mg/L for S755 and rs552 strains. For mint, origano, savory, tea tree, and thyme, IC₅₀ were always the best on rs552 strain. The majority compounds were not necessarily more efficient than their corresponding oils; only eugenol (for clove) and carvacrol (for oregano and savory) seemed to be more effective on S755 strain. On the other hand, rs552 strain seemed to be more sensitive to essential oils than S755 strain. In overall, it was shown that essential oils have different antifungal activities but do not have the same antifungal activities depending on the fungus strain used.

Strong-smelling plant extracts, such as essential oils, have a variety of feeding effects on mammals. Considering current concerns over long-term health issues and environmental effects of chemicals, plant-based products with repellent or antifungal activities may represent good solutions for improvement of rodent pest control programs. The present study was therefore focused on examining the effects of bergamot, lavender, and thyme essential oils as additional bait components on daily intakes of cereal-based baits by wild house mice. Lavender essential oil, containing linalool and linalyl acetate as main components, and thyme essential oil with a prevailing thymol component had no effects on house mice diet. Bergamot essential oil, whose main components were linalool, limonene, and linalyl acetate, showed a repellent effect on house mouse diet.

This study was conducted in an attempt to evaluate the impact of thyme powder supplementation on broiler diets with respect to cytokine and mucin2 gene expressions. It was also our aim to evaluate the growth performance, blood biochemical and hematological profiles, and economic efficiency of the diet. A total of 120 1-day old chicks (Cobb 500) were divided into four groups on the basis of the diet. One group received a basal diet (control) while the others received a basal diet supplemented with 2, 5, or 8 g/kg of thyme powder. At 42 days of age, the chickens were weighed and euthanized, and then blood and tissue samples were collected for the purpose of analysis. Results obtained clearly indicated that thyme supplementation of the diet, especially at 5 g/kg, resulted in a significant increase in body weight and caused the increased body weight gain and feed intake (P ˂ 0.05) as well as augmented WBC and lymphocyte count and IgG and NO levels (P ˂ 0.001). The economic evaluation showed that birds fed on 8 g/kg thyme yielded the lowest net revenue and highest feed cost to produce 1 kg of live weight compared to the other treatments, while birds fed on 2 and 5 g/kg thyme did not differ significantly from values obtained for the controls. The lipid profile of the broilers was affected by thyme supplementation at 2 and 5 g/kg as represented by a significant decrease in serum cholesterol levels as well as low density lipoprotein levels, which is known to be associated with a corresponding increase in high-density lipoprotein (P ˂ 0.001). Furthermore, supplementation of thyme downregulated the pro-inflammatory mediators and increased the expression of mucin2 mRNA in the jejunum of chickens. It can be concluded that thyme supplementation in the diet of broilers at 5 g/kg has the potential to favorably influence productive performance via an improvement in the immune status of the broiler.

There is a growing concern over the use of antibiotics due to the increased resistance of pathogens in broiler. The present study was designed to find the comparative effect of an antibiotic, and some phytogenic on performance traits, blood biochemical parameters, and antioxidant status during starter phase exposed to Salmonella typhimurium challenge. A total of 560-day-old broiler chicks (Ross 308) were randomly allocated to seven treatments (eight replicates). Control (basal diet); T1, infected with Salmonella enterica subsp. typhimurium; T2, infected + avilamycin at the rate of 0.2 g/kg; T3, infected + essential oil of thymol; T4, infected + phytogenic; T5, infected + anti-Salmonella organic acid; and T6, infected + essential oils of thyme, anise, and other components. Body weight gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were significantly (P < 0.05) high in the T2 and T5 at the end of the first and the second week and similar to T4. During the second week, European production efficiency factor (EPEF) was also significantly (P < 0.05) high in T2, T4 and T5. Blood albumin increased significantly (P < 0.05) in birds of T2 in the first week, while during the second week, blood glucose and triglyceride concentration decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in T5. Blood ALT concentration decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in T6 compared to other treatments in the second week. Total antioxidant capacity (at the end of the second week) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) did not change significantly. From the results of the present study, it was concluded that different feed additives could be substituted with antibiotics in the feed of broiler exposed to S. typhimurium challenge.

The main aim of this study was to investigate the effect of six different levels (0, 50, 100, 200, 400, and 600 mg/kg) of phytogenic feed additive containing a mixture essential oils from thyme, black cumin, fennel, anise and rosemary on performance, eggshell quality, reproductive traits, and mineral excretion in quail breeders. In this trial, a total of 60 male and 120 female quails, 91 days old, were randomly distributed in six experimental groups. During the 60-day experiment period, birds were fed with six treatment diets. Performances, eggshell qualities, hatchability, and mineral excretion data were evaluated at the end of the experiment. Results showed that the different dietary levels of essential oil mixture had no significant effect on performance parameters, damaged eggs, eggshell weight, fertility, hatchability of fertile eggs, hatchability of set eggs, and lead and boron excretion. On the other hand, 50 mg/kg supplementation of essential oil mixture (EOM) significantly improved egg-breaking strength and eggshell thickness, and ash, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, zinc, and cadmium excretion was significantly depressed in quail breeders supplemented with the two higher doses (400 or 600 mg/kg) of EOM. These results concluded that supplementing diets with EOM improved egg-breaking strength and decreased excretion of minerals in breeder quails.