Health-Promoting Effects of Thymus herba-barona, Thymus pseudolanuginosus, and Thymus caespititius Decoctions.

, , and decoctions were screened for their phenolic constituents, along with their potential antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial activities. The total phenolic compounds in the extracts of the three plants ranged from 236.0 ± 26.6 mgGAE/g () to 293.0 ± 30.5 mgGAE/g of extract (), being particularly rich in caffeic acid derivatives, namely rosmarinic acid and its structural isomers, as well as flavones, such as luteolin--glucuronide. The extract presented the best DPPH radical scavenging ability (EC = 10.9 ± 0.7 µg/mL), a high reducing power (EC = 32.2 ± 8.2 µg/mL), and effectively inhibited the oxidation of β-carotene (EC = 2.4 ± 0.2 µg/mL). The extracts also showed NO scavenging activity close to that of ascorbic acid, and thus might be useful as anti-inflammatory agents. In addition, they exhibited antibacterial activity against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. strains were the most sensitive bacteria to thyme extracts, with minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration values in the range of 0.6-3.5 mg/mL. Overall, this work is an important contribution for the phytochemical characterization and the potential antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities of these three species, which have been poorly explored.