Thymus Vulgris and T. Serpyllum L.
Constituents:
- Volatile oil- inel. Thymol;
- Tannins- up to 10%;
- Bitter principle;
- Saponins
Essential Oil All species of thyme yeild fragarant oils with thymol and carvacrol. Two commercial varieties of Thyme oil are recognized, the 'red,' the crude distillate, and the 'white' or colourless, which is the 'red' rectified by re-distilling. The yield of oil is very variable, from 2 per cent to 1 per cent in the fresh herb (100 lb. of the fresh flowering tops yielding from 1/2 to 1 lb. of essential oil) and 2.5 per cent in the dried herb, the yield of oil from the dried German herb being on the average 1.7 per cent and from the dried French herb 2.5 to 2.6 per cent. The phenols present in French and German oils consist mainly of Thymol, but under certain conditions the latter may be replaced by Carvacrol. The value of Thyme oil depends so much upon the phenols it contains, that it is important that these should be estimated, as the abstraction of Thymol is by no means uncommon.
Red oil of Thyme is frequently imported and sold under the name of oil of Origanum: it is often adulterated with oils of turpentine, spike lavender and rosemary, and coloured with alkanet root, and is not infrequently more or less destitute of Thymol. True oil of Origanum is extracted from Wild Marjoram, Origanum vulgare, and other species of Origanum.
Cautions: Thyme has many notable antiviral, antibiotic and antiseptic properties and should be used with great care and in moderation. It should never be applied undiluted and the only chemotype suitable for use in children is Thyme limalol .
Therapeutic Properties **Warming *Analgesic *Mood Elevator *Aphrodisiac *Expectorant *Aids digestion *counteracts perspiration *Mental Clarity *Antiseptic *Purifying the blood, body *Fights fungus infection *Combats Viruses *Natural insect repellant *Eases breathing *Distroys or expells intestinal worms *
Preparation Methods
A healthy culinary herb, and pleasant tea infused as a standard brew
Thymol, the main ingredient of the volatile oil of thyme, has been shown to be twenty times more powerful an antiseptic than the standard phenol, yet, unlike phenol, it does not erode or even irritate mucosa or skin exposed to it: it can thus be safely taken internally . Thyme is active against a wide variety of intestinal worms as Necator americanus and species of Ascarides and Oxyuris, there is a general ability to significantly change the bacterial population of the gut.
Thymol disinfect also the bronchial and pulmonary passages and the urinary tubules, it is also used locally against fungal growths. Considering all above properties of Thymus it is used extensively by local healers, however it is always difficult to judge when the poisoning of the host’s body commences; therefore it is recommended that no one short of expert at the task should take it on, and this may call upon professionals and medical school students to intervene for further research and training of local healers.
Thymus vulgaris Common Names: thyme, common thyme, garden thyme, lemon thyme Family: Labiatae/Lamiaceae (mint family)Description
Thyme is a semi-woody subshrub with aromatic, linear to oval, slightly tomentose (fuzzy), gray-green leaves that are about a half inch long. Like most mints, the stem is square in cross section and the leaves are arranged in pairs opposite each other. Thyme grows in a bushy, many-branched, spreading mound 6-12 in (15-30 cm) high and up to twice as wide. In summer, thyme produces tiny lilac to purple flowers arranged in dense, compact heads.
Thyme and thyme oil have been used as fumigants, antiseptics, disinfectants, and mouth washes. The main essential oil in thyme, thymol, is active against salmonella and staphylococcus bacteria.
Thymol is one of the active ingredients in Listerine® mouthwash and provides the "medicated" properties of many consumer products. Thyme is said to aid digestion of fatty foods.
Features
This huge genus has three or four hundred species, most of which are aromatic shrubs or perennials, and all of which are native to Asia or Europe.
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