EC Microbiology

Thymol is an established anti-parasitic drug against Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. Thymol is characterized as small molecule drug mainly isolated from Thymus vulgaris and Trachyspermum ammi. The active compound of thymol, 2-isopropyl-5-methylphenol, is a natural monoterpenoid phenol shows potent anti-microbial action against numerous gram positive and negative bacteria as well as fungal species. The objective of the study was to elucidate the anti-influenza effect of thymol in A549 cells. The data represents the effect of thymol on influenza A virus replication. Assessment of cytotoxicity of thymol was checked by MTT assay and 50% of minimal toxic concentration was found at 49.4 µg/ml. The inhibitory effect of thymol was analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR and western blotting. When treated with thymol at different concentrations only 50 and 25 µg/ml showed inhibition in expression compared to control at 24hr in both RNA and protein level. This is the first study which showed that thymol exhibited significant anti-influenza efficacy in A549 cells.

Keywords: Thymol; Influenza A Virus; Anti-Viral; Quantitative RT-PCR and Western Blot

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