{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T03:23:51Z","timestamp":1790825031392,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,12]],"date-time":"2025-03-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1741737600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Antibiotics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Chemotherapy continues to be the cornerstone for the management of leishmaniasis. The preferred medications are pricey and have a number of unfavorable side effects. These restrictions make it necessary to produce novel antileishmanial chemicals, and plants have opportunities in this respect. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the antileishmanial properties of Thymus syriacus essential oil and its mechanisms of action. Results: Our findings demonstrated that Thymus syriacus essential oil, rich in thymol, exhibited potent antileishmanial activity, with an IC50 value of approximately 1 \u00b5g\/mL against L. tropica promastigotes. Furthermore, the cell cycle arrest at the sub-G0-G1 phase supported the theory that the leishmanicidal effect was mediated by apoptosis. Methods: The essential oil was characterized using gas chromatography\u2013tandem mass spectrometry. Antileishmanial activity against L. tropica promastigotes was assessed, with mechanisms confirmed via flow cytometry. Conclusions: These results confirm the potential of Thymus syriacus essential oil as a promising therapeutic candidate for the treatment of leishmaniasis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/antibiotics14030293","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,12]],"date-time":"2025-03-12T04:55:44Z","timestamp":1741755344000},"page":"293","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Thymus syriacus Essential Oil Extract: Potential Antileishmanial Activity Induced by an Apoptotic-like Death"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Basem","family":"Battah","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry, Antioch Syrian Private University, Maaret Saidnaya 22734, Syria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Teresa","family":"Chianese","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, University Federico II, Via Cintia 21, 80126 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2472-0435","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luigi","family":"Rosati","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, University Federico II, Via Cintia 21, 80126 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giacomo","family":"Petretto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7341-4277","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chadi","family":"Soukkarieh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Science, Damascus University, Damascus 30621, Syria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7331-0032","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marco","family":"Ferrari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9713-3306","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vittorio","family":"Mazzarello","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0132-2277","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aleksandra","family":"Barac","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinic for Infectious and Tropical Diseases, University Clinical Center of Serbia, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8453-7272","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aleksandar","family":"Peric","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine of the Military Medical Academy, University of Defense, 11042 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7681-6194","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Matthew Gavino","family":"Donadu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Scuola di Specializzazione in Farmacia Ospedaliera, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy"},{"name":"Hospital Pharmacy, Giovanni Paolo II Hospital, ASL Gallura, 07026 Olbia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"127","DOI":"10.4103\/0974-777X.62866","article-title":"The biology and control of leishmaniasis vectors","volume":"2","author":"Claborn","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. 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