Journal of Functional Foods (Oct 2024)
The potency of Thymus vulgaris seed extract in alleviating obesity complications and iron overload in obese rats
Abstract
Natural products have long been recognized as valuable sources of bioactive compounds in therapeutic agents. Thymus vulgaris, commonly known as thyme and belonging to the Lamiaceae family, is widely distributed and extensively used in Egyptian folk medicine for its antibroncholitic, antispasmodic, carminative, and diuretic properties. However, there is a lack of research on the effects of T. vulgaris seed extract in mitigating obesity-induced iron overload in rats. Given its potent bioactive constituents, this study aimed to investigate the impact of T. vulgaris seed extract on iron overload associated with obesity by evaluating lipid profiles, iron status parameters—including plasma ferritin, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), plasma transferrin, transferrin saturation percentage (TS%), and hepcidin gene expression in adipose tissue. About 30 flavonoids were identified in T. vulgaris seed extract using LC-MS. Among these, methoxyflavonoids were the most abundant metabolites. The administration of T. vulgaris seed extract to obese rats resulted in significant reductions in anthropometric features, hepcidin gene expression, cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), TIBC, plasma ferritin, leptin, and iron and copper content in adipose tissue. Moreover, treatment with T. vulgaris extract led to a notable decrease in interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels (76.33 ± 4.31 ng/L and 40.83 ± 1.82 ng/L for low and high doses, respectively) compared to the obese control group (110.83 ± 5.82 ng/L). Conversely, plasma adiponectin levels were significantly increased with T. vulgaris supplementation (123.6 ± 7.9 µg/L and 217.4 ± 6.1 µg/L for low and high doses, respectively) compared to the obese group (54.6 ± 4.9 µg/L). Additionally, adipose tissue zinc levels were significantly elevated in response to T. vulgaris supplementation (2.54 ± 0.20 µg/g and 3.75 ± 0.14 µg/g for low and high doses, respectively) compared to the obese group (1.45 ± 0.23 µg/g). Our findings suggest that T. vulgaris could be a promising novel therapeutic agent for managing obesity-induced iron overload.
