Chapter 13
Carvacrol (Origanum vulgare):
Therapeutic Properties and Molecular
Mechanisms
Arijit Mondal, Sankhadip Bose, Kamalika Mazumder,
and Ritu Khanra
Abstract Carvacrol (cymophenol) has been reported to be the major component of
aromatic plant essential oils belonging to the Labiatae family, such as Origanum
vulgare and Thymus vulgaris. It is a phenolic moiety containing monoterpenoid
compound, chemically known as 5-isopropyl-2-methyl phenol. Carvacrol is used in
food products both as a flavoring component and as preservative. Current research is
being directed to establish a potent compound carvacrol with diverse pharmacological activities, such as antioxidant, antifungal, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory,
anticancer, hepatoprotective, anti-spasmodic, anti-parasitic, and insecticidal activities. There are various derivatives of carvacrol, which possess antimicrobial action
against microbial pathogens. The carvacrol phenolic group does have a good
antimicrobial and anti-oxidative function. Its hydrophobic nature is owing to the
existence of benzene ring and methyl and isopropyl substituents helped the moiety to
bind with guanine present in DNA. This review is based upon an evaluation of the
existing data or knowledge regarding the extraction of carvacrol, chemical composition of the potent derivatives synthesized from carvacrol, their pharmacological and
toxicological effects. This chapter documents the above-mentioned activities and
strived to critically assess the molecular pathway involved in the action of carvacrol.
Keywords Carvacrol Á Essential oil Á Antimicrobial Á Anticancer Á Toxicity
A. Mondal (&)
Bengal College of Pharmaceutical Technology, Dubrajpur 731123, India
e-mail: juarijitmondal@gmail.com
S. Bose
Bengal School of Technology, Chuchura, Hooghly 712102, India
e-mail: sankha.bose@gmail.com
K. Mazumder
BCDA College of Pharmacy and Technology, Kolkata 700127, India
e-mail: kamalika@bcdapt.com
R. Khanra
JIS University, Kolkata 700109, India
e-mail: ritukhanra@yahoo.co.in
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
D. Pal and A. K. Nayak (eds.), Bioactive Natural Products
for Pharmaceutical Applications, Advanced Structured Materials 140,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54027-2_13
437
Carvacrol (Origanum vulgare):
Therapeutic Properties and Molecular
Mechanisms
Arijit Mondal, Sankhadip Bose, Kamalika Mazumder,
and Ritu Khanra
Abstract Carvacrol (cymophenol) has been reported to be the major component of
aromatic plant essential oils belonging to the Labiatae family, such as Origanum
vulgare and Thymus vulgaris. It is a phenolic moiety containing monoterpenoid
compound, chemically known as 5-isopropyl-2-methyl phenol. Carvacrol is used in
food products both as a flavoring component and as preservative. Current research is
being directed to establish a potent compound carvacrol with diverse pharmacological activities, such as antioxidant, antifungal, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory,
anticancer, hepatoprotective, anti-spasmodic, anti-parasitic, and insecticidal activities. There are various derivatives of carvacrol, which possess antimicrobial action
against microbial pathogens. The carvacrol phenolic group does have a good
antimicrobial and anti-oxidative function. Its hydrophobic nature is owing to the
existence of benzene ring and methyl and isopropyl substituents helped the moiety to
bind with guanine present in DNA. This review is based upon an evaluation of the
existing data or knowledge regarding the extraction of carvacrol, chemical composition of the potent derivatives synthesized from carvacrol, their pharmacological and
toxicological effects. This chapter documents the above-mentioned activities and
strived to critically assess the molecular pathway involved in the action of carvacrol.
Keywords Carvacrol Á Essential oil Á Antimicrobial Á Anticancer Á Toxicity
A. Mondal (&)
Bengal College of Pharmaceutical Technology, Dubrajpur 731123, India
e-mail: juarijitmondal@gmail.com
S. Bose
Bengal School of Technology, Chuchura, Hooghly 712102, India
e-mail: sankha.bose@gmail.com
K. Mazumder
BCDA College of Pharmacy and Technology, Kolkata 700127, India
e-mail: kamalika@bcdapt.com
R. Khanra
JIS University, Kolkata 700109, India
e-mail: ritukhanra@yahoo.co.in
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
D. Pal and A. K. Nayak (eds.), Bioactive Natural Products
for Pharmaceutical Applications, Advanced Structured Materials 140,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54027-2_13
437