Evidence map›Paper›PMID 18334983›Full record

ArticleBritish journal of pharmacology2008

Thymol and related alkyl phenols activate the hTRPA1 channel.

S P Lee, M T Buber, Q Yang, R Cerne, R Y Cortés, D G Sprous, R W Bryant

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in British journal of pharmacology, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
71citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
15.0field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

71 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 165 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. TRPV3 in skin thermosensation and temperature responses.The journal of physiological sciences : JPS · 2025
    Review
  6. DistinctFrontiers in immunology · 2025
    Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Eugenol and lidocaine inhibit voltage-gated NaFrontiers in pharmacology · 2024
    Article
  11. Review
  12. Review
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. TRPA1 Expression and Pathophysiology in Immune Cells.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021
    Review
  19. Article
  20. Article

11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

S P LeeDiscovery Research, Redpoint Bio Corporation, Ewing, NJ, USA.
M T Buber
Q Yang
R Cerne
R Y Cortés
D G Sprous
R W Bryant
Discovery Semiconductors (United States) · USMerck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA (United States) · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

background and purposeThymol, a major component of thyme and oregano, has medical uses in oral care products as an astringent and antibiotic. Its distinctive sharp odour and pungent flavour are considered aversive properties. The molecular basis of these aversive properties is not well understood. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: The ability of thymol to activate human transient receptor potential channel A1 (hTRPA1) expressed in stably transfected human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK293) cells was measured by membrane potential and calcium-sensitive dyes in a fluorescence-imaging plate reader (FLIPR) assay. Direct activation of hTRPA1 currents was measured by whole-cell voltage clamp recording. Intracellular calcium changes were measured using fura-2 dye. The FLIPR assay was also used to measure membrane potential changes elicited by thymol after pretreatment with camphor, a known TRPA1 inhibitor. The ability of related alkyl phenols to activate hTRPA1 was also determined. KEY

resultsThymol potently activated a membrane potential response and intracellular calcium increase in hTRPA1-expressing HEK293 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Activation by thymol desensitized hTRPA1 to further exposure to thymol or the known ligand allyl isothiocyanate (AITC). The related phenols 2-tert-butyl-5-methylphenol, 2,6-diisopropylphenol (propofol) and carvacrol also activated hTRPA1. Phenols with less bulky carbon substitutions and lower logP values were less potent in general. The response to thymol was blocked by camphor. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: These results suggest a role for hTRPA1 activation in the reported pungent and aversive properties of some of these pharmaceutically important phenols.

Indexed as

Anti-Infective AgentsCalciumCalcium ChannelsCell LineDose-Response Relationship, DrugElectrophysiologyFluorometryHumansMembrane PotentialsNerve Tissue ProteinsPatch-Clamp TechniquesPhenolsStructure-Activity RelationshipThymolTransient Receptor Potential ChannelsTRPA1 Cation ChannelAnti-Infective AgentsCalciumCalcium ChannelsNerve Tissue ProteinsPhenolsThymolTransient Receptor Potential ChannelsTRPA1 Cation ChannelTRPA1 protein, human

Identifiers

PMID18334983
PMCPMC2438272
OpenAlexW2045454662

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.