{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]],"date-time":"2026-07-22T15:59:20Z","timestamp":1784735960805,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,10,19]],"date-time":"2022-10-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1666137600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004329","name":"Javna Agencija Za Raziskovalno Dejavnost RS","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004329","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Pharmacol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Thyme (<jats:italic>Thymus vulgaris<\/jats:italic> L.) is a well-known medicinal plant, the aerial parts of which have long been used internally or externally as a traditional remedy for various diseases. Thyme essential oils have important pharmaceutical applications and are regularly used in the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries. In folk medicine, thyme preparations are used to treat respiratory, digestive, cardiovascular and nervous disorders, as well as to relieve dysmenorrhea. Thymol, a major constituent of <jats:italic>Thymus vulgaris<\/jats:italic> essential oil, has been shown to affect skeletal and smooth muscle excitation and contraction. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to evaluate its effect on acetylcholine (ACh)-induced rat intestinal and uterine preparations. Isolated ileum and uterine horn preparations were placed in a 20-ml organ bath containing Tyrode or De Jalon solution and exposed to graded concentrations of ACh (0.036, 0.109, 0.36, 1.09, 3,6, 10.9, and 36\u00a0\u03bcM) and either 0.02 or 0.2\u00a0mM thymol. Additionally, the dose\u2013response relationship of thymol impact on intestinal and uterine contraction was evaluated. Contraction changes were monitored using an isometric transducer. Thymol at the higher dose (0.2\u00a0mM) significantly reduced ACh-induced intestinal and uterine contractions. Thus, this study provides new important data on competitive actions between thymol and ACh. In the dose\u2013response study, the IC<jats:sub>50<\/jats:sub> values were calculated as 5.26\u00a0mM for the ileum and 5.35\u00a0mM for the uterus. Our results demonstrated the efficacy of thymol in reducing ileal and uterine smooth muscle contractions, thus supporting the use of thyme in traditional medicine in the treatment of digestive disorders and painful menstrual cramps.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fphar.2022.990654","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,10,19]],"date-time":"2022-10-19T17:44:45Z","timestamp":1666201485000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["The effect of thymol on acetylcholine-induced contractions of the rat ileum and uterus under ex vivo conditions"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Blanka","family":"Premrov Bajuk","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Luka","family":"Prem","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tilen","family":"Vake","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ne\u017ea","family":"\u017dnidar\u0161i\u010d","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Toma\u017e","family":"Snoj","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,10,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1620","DOI":"10.3748\/wjg.15.1620","article-title":"Altered spontaneous contractions of the ileum by anesthetic agents in rats exposed to peritonitis","volume":"15","author":"Aydin","year":"2009","journal-title":"World J. 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