Multi-Target Anti-Aging and Wound-Healing Potential of Libyan Thymus vulgaris and Thymus capitatus Essential Oils: Integrated GC–MS, Network Pharmacology, Molecular Docking, and In Vitro Evaluation

Thymus vulgaris (TV) and Thymus capitatus (TC) are traditionally used for skin-related disorders, but their comparative chemical composition and multi-target skin-protective mechanisms remain insufficiently characterized. In this study, essential oils from aerial parts collected in eastern Libya were analyzed by GC–MS and evaluated using network pharmacology, molecular docking, enzyme-inhibition and antioxidant assays, and a human fibroblast scratch-wound/RT-qPCR model. GC–MS identified 39 constituents, accounting for 98.95% and 99.23% of the TV and TC oils, respectively; carvacrol (41.38%) and thymol (20.91%) predominated in TV, whereas thymol (41.06%) and carvacrol (13.02%) predominated in TC. Chemometric comparison with 28 published oils per species (PCA and hierarchical clustering) classified the TC oil as a thymol chemotype, found in only seven of 28 regional T. capitatus oils (18 were carvacrol type), and the TV oil as a carvacrol-rich type most similar to Moroccan oils. Network pharmacology identified 1074 core targets linked to 14 skin-associated conditions and prioritised 50 hub genes, including NFKB1 and RELA. Docking of 129 compound–target pairs showed that 84 (65%) achieved docking scores ≤−5.0 kcal/mol. TC showed stronger elastase, tyrosinase, hyaluronidase, and 5-LOX inhibition, whereas TV exhibited stronger COX-2 inhibition and antioxidant activity. At a low-toxicity concentration (1.99 µg/mL), TC was associated with accelerated fibroblast wound closure, which may reflect both migration and proliferation, and with increased COL1A1, ITGA11, and HAS2 and decreased MMP1 mRNA expression. Overall, the two oils displayed complementary multi-target anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities in vitro and in silico, with TC additionally suggesting pro-regenerative potential in fibroblasts, supporting their further investigation as topical cosmeceutical candidates.