Thyme – The source of courage

By Elina Vogiatzaki

Common names of Thyme

Tiemie (Afrikaans), 百里香 (Chinese), Thym (French), Thimos /Thimari (Greek), Thymian (German), Tomillo (Spanish), अजवायन के फूल (Hindi).

Brief history

Thyme is a very useful herb not only for the humans but also for the honeybees and the blue butterflies, as it is an important nectar source for them. It is a perennial shrub with aromatic leaves that grows on rocks or soil with little moisture and it needs a lot of sun. Thyme belongs to the Lamiaceae family as oregano and basil and, as many other plants depending on where it grows it differs in flavor and chemical composition.

The most commonly used variety of Thyme is which originated initially from Southern Europe and the Mediterranean region. However, these days we can find Thyme in many different places around the world, with temperate climate and there are many other varieties known for their different aroma and flavor. Some of them are the (wild thyme, creeping thyme), mostly found in Greece, Malta and North Africa, (orange or lemon thyme), characteristic for its lemony taste, (caraway thyme) and , mostly grown as an ornamental.

Interestingly, the name Thyme comes from the Greek word “thyo” which means to fumigate. Ancient Greeks used to burn Thyme in their temples as incense and because they believed that it was a source of courage. Ancient Egyptians used it for embalming and Roman soldiers used to bathe in the leaves of thyme in order to become courageous.

Health benefits

Good source of vitamins and minerals

Thyme is a very good source of vitamins and minerals necessary for our health and the good function of our body. It contains high amounts of Vitamin A, C, B6, K, E and folic acid ⁸. Thyme is also full of potassium, calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium and selenium, important minerals for the good function of our cells and our body fluids ²⁶.

Antimicrobial

Mainly due to the carvacrol and thymol that thyme contains it has great antimicrobial potential. According to scientific studies, thyme extracts can inhibit the growth of different microorganisms and especially gram positive bacteria ^{4, 18, 24, 29}.

Anti-oxidant – Protects from cancer

Thyme contains very high concentration of several anti-oxidant compounds¹². In many scientific studies the chemical composition of thyme ^{3, 7, 14, 16, 20, 31, 32} or the effects of its constituents on animals ^{9, 10, 19, 23, 25} where analyzed. It was shown that thyme has great anti-oxidant activity and its use can protect from cancer, aging and other diseases related to oxidative stress.

Anti-inflammatory – Helps the immune system

As many other medicinal herbs, thyme has also great anti-inflammatory potential. Especially the chemical extracts of T. vulgaris have been tested on several human cell lines either of the immune system or other ones and they had very promising effects^{1, 5, 15, 21, 27, 30}. According to animal studies, carvacrol and thymol, the two main constituents of thyme, suppressed several inflammation markers in different tissues^{2, 11, 13, 17, 28}.

Helpful for respiratory diseases

In most scientific studies that thyme was tested until now, it was combined with other drugs or plant extracts ²⁷. There is also one study in humans that tested the effect of thyme on cough and showed that it reduces the cough ¹². All these results suggest that thyme probably plays a role in the alleviation of respiratory irritations, but further research is needed.

Neuroprotective – Antinociceptive

Lab experiments have shown that the molecules carvacrol, thymol and α-terpineol that thyme contains can contribute to the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases. Animal studies have also shown that thyme extracts contribute to the reduction of pain perception²⁷.

Beneficial for the gut microbiome

Although thyme infusion is traditionally used for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, there is not enough scientific proof that this is true and if chronic intake of thyme supplements is beneficial or detrimental for the intestinal health. Interestingly one study²³ showed that in rabbits that consumed a diet supplemented with thyme oil (0.5g/kg diet) for 42 days the amount of potentially pathogenic bacteria of the Clostridium sp was reduced. The authors suggested that thyme oil could improve the intestinal health by reducing the pathogenic bacteria and without affecting the beneficial ones. However, further research is needed to understand the effect of thyme on the gut microbiome.

Protects from gastric ulcers

There is a study²² that demonstrated that thyme constituents and more specifically carvacrol and α -terpineol (administered orally), had beneficial effects in stomach ulcers of rats. In another study in pigs⁶, thymol (also orally administered) was shown to induce several genes mostly related to digestion. Thus, thyme seems to have beneficial effects for stomach ulcers and possibly help digestion, although further research is needed. There is also effort for the development of medication using thyme extracts for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease (patent number EP 1080727 A1).

Natural Home Remedies

Herbal tea

One of the most common home remedies against cough in the island of Crete, in Greece is a herbal tea of thyme or oregano. They both have great antimicrobial and health promoting properties that it’s worth consuming them now and then in order to maintain a strong immune system, but also improve your digestion.

You can simply boil 1tbsp. of thyme or oregano (or both) in water, strain it and drink it three times per day. It really helps to reduce and stop coughing. If you find it too bitter, you can add 1tsp. of honey or any other sweetener you prefer. In case of a bacterial infection add also lemon juice of half or one lemon, depending how sour you prefer it.

Tip: You can re-use the same amount of herb up to 3 times before throwing it away.

References

Amirghofran Z, Ahmadi H, Karimi M. Immunomodulatory activity of the water extract of Thymus vulgaris, Thymus daenensis and Zataria multiflora on dendritic cells and T cells responses. J Immunoassay Immunochem. 2012;33:388Y402.
Aristatile B, Al-Assaf A, Pugalendi K. Carvacrol suppresses the expression of inflammatory marker genes in D-galactosamine hepatotoxic rats. Asian Pac J Trop Med. 2013;6:205-211.
Asbaghian S, Shafaghat A, Zarea K, Kasimov F, Salimi F. Comparison of volatile constituents, and antioxidant and antibacterial activities of the essential oils of Thymus caucasicus, T. kotschyanus, and T. vulgaris. Nat Prod Commun. 2011; 6: 137Y140.
Boruga O, Jianu C, Mişcă C, Goleţ I, Gruia AT, Horhat FG. Thymus vulgaris essential oil: chemical composition and antimicrobial activity. Journal of Medicine and Life. 2014; 7( 3): 56-60.
Chohan M, Naughton DP, Jones L, Opara EI. An investigation of the relationship between the anti-inflammatory activity, polyphenolic content, and antioxidant activities of cooked and in vitro digested culinary herbs. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2012; 627843.

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