Thyme and oregano essential oils have prebiotic and antioxidant properties that are very effective in reducing serious cardiometabolic risk, according to the results of a study led by the CIBERCV group of the Malaga Biomedical Research Institute and Nanomedicine Platform (IBIMA Platform). Bionand) and the Virgen de la Victoria University Hospital and in which several CIBER teams have collaborated, as well as researchers from the University of Malaga (UMA), the University of Extremadura and the Complexo Hospitalario Universitario A Coruña (CIBERCV group led by Marisa Curly).
The objective of the work was to analyze the effects of thyme and oregano essential oils administered as nutraceuticals (supplements with natural ingredients) to address a complex cardiometabolic condition. The researchers employed a “multi-omics” approach, which involves the integration and joint analysis of multiple types of biological data, using a humanized mouse model transplanted with gut microbiota from patients with coronary heart disease (CAD) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM). ).
Using proteomic techniques to study all the proteins present in an organism is essential to obtain information about metabolic pathways and allowed researchers to analyze in depth the proteins of cardiac tissue and discover the molecular mechanisms by which essential oils regulate the function of the mitochondria, oxidative stress and cardiac contraction.
Improvements in the composition and activity of the intestinal microbiota
In addition, when analyzing the microbiome, they observed alterations after the administration of essential oils, including an increase in beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus and a decrease in the harmful bacterial genus Colidextribacter. This change in the composition and activity of the gut microbiota has important implications for metabolic health and inflammatory response, two key aspects of cardiometabolic disorders.
“After the administration of essential oils, an improvement was observed in risk factors for cardiovascular health, including cholesterol”
At the same time as an increase in beneficial intestinal bacteria, favorable changes in associated metabolites were observed, such as increased levels of beneficial short-chain fatty acids in fecal samples, accompanied by an overall reduction in levels in blood of TMAO, a proatherogenic substance.
Furthermore, the researcher from the ‘Cardiovascular Research for Health’ group of IBIMA Bionand Platform, María José Sánchez Quintero, explained that “the antioxidant power of the administration of essential oils was validated by reducing the plasma levels of oxidant molecules, such as carbonyls and pentosidines, while an improvement was observed in risk factors for cardiovascular health, including cholesterol.”
The coordinator of the scientific area ‘Cardiovascular diseases, obesity and diabetes. Environmental determinants and lifestyle’ of IBIMA Ibima Platform and professor at the UMA, Manuel Jiménez Navarro, who has led this research, has highlighted that “the use of proteomic and microbiome techniques have given us a complete vision of the underlying mechanisms of the severe cardiometabolic disorders, which allows us to test the therapeutic potential of the essential oils of the Mediterranean diet in its possible treatment.”
This study has been published in Antioxidants and provides innovative information on the role of the intestinal microbiota in the health status of high-risk patients, and how incorporating thyme and oregano essential oils into the diet can provide significant prebiotic and antioxidant benefits, which They even extend to cardiac function, suggesting a protective effect against severe cardiometabolic disease.
Source: Center for Biomedical Research Network (CIBER)
