{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T10:48:22Z","timestamp":1785408502491,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,28]],"date-time":"2026-05-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779926400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Yozgat Bozok University","award":["TED-2026-2269"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["TED-2026-2269"]}]},{"award":["TED-2026-2269"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["TED-2026-2269"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04qvdf239","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmaceuticals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the phytochemical content of the endemic plant Thymus fedtschenkoi var. handelii (Ronniger) Jalas and, for the first time, to examine its anticancer potential on various cancer cell lines. Methods: The plant was collected from its natural habitat and the essential oils\u2019 (EOs) composition was analyzed using GC-MS. The anticancer efficacy and cytotoxicity of plant extracts and the EOs were evaluated using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) methods on lung (A549, Calu1, H1650), bone (SW1353, MG63, Saos2), prostate (PC3, DU145, LNCaP) and brain (A172, B35, C6) cancer cell lines, as well as normal cell lines (Beas2B, FL, HC). Results: The main components of the EOs were determined to be high amounts of carvacrol (51.12%), \u03b3-gamma-terpinene (16.87%), and p-cymene (14.76%). Both the extract (GI50: 1.10\u20133.28 \u00b5g\/mL) and the EOs (GI50: 1.05\u20132.03 \u00b5g\/mL) exhibited strong antiproliferative activity. However, the EOs demonstrated markedly superior growth suppression, with TGI values of 1.97\u20139.19 \u00b5g\/mL, whereas the extract required substantially higher concentrations (110.6\u2013261.5 \u00b5g\/mL). The LC50 values of all samples exceeded 500 \u00b5g\/mL in all cell lines tested, indicating that the natural compounds predominantly had a cytostatic effect. Normal cells showed comparable reduced sensitivity, supporting selectivity. Morphological analyses further confirmed treatment-induced cellular alterations consistent with antiproliferative and apoptotic processes. Overall, essential oils emerged as the most effective fraction, combining low TGI values with moderate cytotoxicity and showing promise in in vitro activity. Conclusions: The potent and selective antiproliferative activity of T. fedtschenkoi var. handelii may hold significant therapeutic potential in the pharmaceutical industry.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ph19060844","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,4]],"date-time":"2026-06-04T01:08:02Z","timestamp":1780535282000},"page":"844","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Phytochemical Characterization and the First Report on the Antiproliferative Activity and Cytotoxicity of Thymus fedtschenkoi var. handelii (Ronniger) Jalas"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9114-8400","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"T\u00fcnay","family":"Karan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary, Yozgat Bozok University, Yozgat 66200, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ali","family":"Ayd\u0131n","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Yozgat Bozok University, Yozgat 66200, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9248-6022","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u00c7a\u011fr\u0131 \u00c7a\u011flar","family":"Sinmez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of History of Veterinary Medicine and Deontology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Erciyes University, Kayseri 38039, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ufuk","family":"\u00dclker","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Yozgat Bozok University, Yozgat 66200, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ay\u015fe","family":"Bulut","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Yozgat Bozok University, Yozgat 66200, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M\u00fckerrem Bet\u00fcl","family":"Yerer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Erciyes University, Kayseri 38039, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5819-4894","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bedrettin","family":"Selvi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat 60100, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhou, W., Li, J., Wang, X., Liu, L., Li, Y., Song, R., and Li, X. 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