title: Cytotoxicity of Thymus vulgaris essential oil towards human oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) accounts for 2% to 3% of all malignancies and has a high mortality rate. The majority of anticancer drugs are of natural origin. However, it is unknown whether the medicinal plant Thymus vulgaris L. (thyme) is cytotoxic towards head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Cytotoxicity of thyme essential oil was investigated on the HNSCC cell line, UMSCC1. The IC₅₀ of thyme essential oil extract was 369 μg/ml. Moreover, we performed pharmacogenomics analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Genes involved in the cell cycle, cell death and cancer were involved in the cytotoxic activity of thyme essential oil at the transcriptional level. The three most significantly regulated pathways by thyme essential oil were interferon signaling, N-glycan biosynthesis and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 5 (ERK5) signaling.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Thyme essential oil inhibits human HNSCC cell growth. Based on pharmacogenomic approaches, novel insights into the molecular mode of anticancer activity of thyme are presented.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Serkan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sertel
authors.forename: Tolga
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Eichhorn
authors.forename: Peter K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Plinkert
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Efferth
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D007372:Interferons / Q000378:metabolism; D048054:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 7 / Q000235:genetics; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D008517:Phytotherapy; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects*; D046930:Thymus Plant / Q000737:chemistry*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D007372:Interferons; D048054:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 7