Thymol, carvacrol, and antioxidant accumulation in Thymus species in response to different light spectra emitted by light-emitting diodes.

The essential oils and antioxidant activity of four Thymus species were evaluated under five light spectra (namely, red, blue, red-blue, white, and greenhouse condition). The highest essential oil yield (4.17%) was observed under red light in T. migricus, while the lowest (1.05%) was observed in T. carmanicus under greenhouse conditions. Light quality also led to difference in essential oil constituents. The highest thymol (66%) was found in T. migricus exposed to blue light, while the least (1.69%) was observed in T. kotschyanus grown under red-blue light. The LED treatments did not induce any significant effect on carvacrol of Thymus species in comparison to the greenhouse condition. Finally, the analysis of variance indicates that the effect of light varied with the studied species. T. migricus performed the highest antioxidant capacity (IC50 = 176.8 µg/mL) under blue light. Overall, essential oil components as well as antioxidants showed significant responses to light emitting diodes wavelengths.