Effect of extraction methods on antioxidant and anticoagulant activities of Thymus atlanticus aerial part

Abstract

Thymus atlanticus is one of the Moroccan thyme species widely used in folk medicine as remedy of several diseases such as thrombosis and other cardiovascular disorders. The object of the study was to evaluate the anticoagulant and antioxidant activities of the aqueous extract of Thymus atlanticus and to assess the effect of extraction procedure on these biological activities. Three conventional extraction methods, namely decoction, maceration, and soxhlet techniques were tested. The anticoagulant activity was performed through the general tests of coagulation: activate partial thromboplastin (aPTT) and the prothrombin time (PT). Concerning the antioxidant activity, it was performed following three in vitro technique assays: DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP. Results showed that all extracts obtained from different extraction methods exhibited a potent anticoagulant activity (p<0.001) in both aPTT and PT coagulation tests and considerable antioxidant activities using DPPH, ABTS and FRAP; where the highest anticoagulant and antioxidant activities were recorded for the decoction method extraction. These findings indicate that the extract of Thymus atlanticus could probably be a natural bioactive product for therapeutic purposes, especially for prevention of oxidative stress and thrombosis related disorders. It was also illustrated through this investigation that the decoction extraction method showed to be the most efficient for this plant. Keywords: Anticoagulant activity, Antioxidant activity, Extraction methods, Thymus atlanticus