What effect has thyme?
Thyme has an antispasmodic effect on the bronchi, promotes expectoration and anti-inflammatory. In addition, the medicinal plant is effective against bacteria, fungi and viruses.
The herbs of thyme and Spanish thyme (Thymi herba) are used medicinally, as well as the essential oil they contain. Its most important components are thymol and carvacrol. Other constituents of thyme are phenolic monoterpenes, flavonoids, saponins and tannins.
Medically recognized applications
Medically recognized is the internal use of thyme and thyme oil as an expectorant for coughs caused by colds. Thyme can also be used medicinally for bronchitis and as a supportive remedy for whooping cough – as well as for inflammation of the oral mucosa and bad breath (as a mouth rinse).
The external use of thyme oil for rubs and baths for colds is also recognized.
Other possible effects
What else is thyme useful for? There is evidence from an animal study with rats that thyme can lower blood pressure. Whether this also works in humans needs to be clarified via further studies.
Thyme as a spice is said to be supportive in cases of hypothyroidism.
Thyme oil is used in aromatherapy as a room fragrance. It is said to have a positive effect on the psyche and provide relaxation. However, there are no scientific studies on this use.
However, one study shows that thyme oil is effective against mosquitoes and their larvae.
How is thyme used?
There are several ways to use thyme medicinally.
If your symptoms persist for a long time or even worsen despite treatment, you should consult a doctor.
Thyme as tea and gargle solution
The herb can be used to prepare thyme tea: Unless otherwise prescribed, pour about 150 milliliters of boiling water over one teaspoon of thyme herb (about 1.4 grams), cover and let steep for five minutes, then strain the plant parts.
How much thyme tea can I drink a day? You can drink a cup of tea several times a day. The recommended daily dose (adults) is four to six grams of dried medicinal drug. You can also add other medicinal herbs.
For dosage and use of thyme tea in children, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
For a gargle solution, make an infusion as described above, but with five grams of thyme herb to 100 milliliters of water.
Thyme as a bath additive
Home remedies have their limits. If the symptoms persist for a long time, do not improve or even get worse despite treatment, you should always consult a doctor.
Thyme in aromatherapy
When using thyme oil, aromatherapists take into account from which plant chemotype it was obtained: Adapted to the respective site conditions, thyme can namely grow in different variants (chemotypes), which differ somewhat from each other in their active ingredient composition and thus the effect.
For example, thyme chemotype (CT) thymol is characterized by its outstanding germicidal effect. In contrast, Thyme CT Linaool is particularly mild for the skin as well as the mucous membrane and thus very suitable for children.
Unless otherwise stated, the following formulations apply to healthy adults. For children, pregnant women, nursing mothers, elderly people as well as people with certain underlying diseases (such as asthma, epilepsy), the dosage must often be reduced or some essential oils must be avoided altogether. Therefore, first discuss the use of essential oils in such patient groups with an aromatherapist (e.g., physician or alternative practitioner with appropriate additional training).
Inhalation
Rubbing
For acute bronchitis, you can make the following mixture for rubbing: Take as a fat base oil 50 milliliters of almond oil. Drop the following essential oils into it: ten drops of Eucalyptus globulus (or E. radiata) and five drops each of Thyme CT Thymol, Myrtle, Ravensara (Ravintsara) and Laurel. You can make chest compresses and rub back with it several times a day.
Gargle solution
For a gargle solution for tonsillitis, add one teaspoon of salt and two drops of thyme oil CT Thujanol or CT Thymol to a glass of lukewarm water. Gargle with it several times a day.
Ready-made preparations with thyme
There are also various ready-to-use preparations such as cough syrup, drops and capsules with thyme as well as cold ointments and baths based on thyme herb or thyme oil.
Also available are tea mixtures such as chest and cough tea, which contain thyme along with other medicinal plants. There are also syrups, balms, pastilles and candies with thyme.
Please consult the relevant package leaflet or your doctor or pharmacist for information on how to use and dose such preparations correctly.
What side effects can thyme cause?
There is no evidence from studies that thyme is harmful to the liver.
What you should consider when using thyme
- Anyone who is allergic to thyme or other representatives of this plant family (sage, mint, peppermint, lavender, etc.) should not use the medicinal plant.
- It is not known that too much thyme can be fundamentally harmful.
- You should not take a full bath with thyme in case of major skin injuries, open wounds, fever, severe infections, cardiac insufficiency and severe cardiovascular diseases.
- The extent to which thyme can negatively affect pregnancy or breastfeeding has not yet been conclusively determined. To be on the safe side, pregnant women and nursing mothers should not use the medicinal plant medicinally.
- Thyme essential oil should never be used by pregnant women. For use during breastfeeding, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
- Some essential oils such as thyme oil can cause a life-threatening glottis spasm with respiratory arrest in infants and young children up to two years of age. It should therefore not be used in this age group. As a precaution, it is also not recommended for use in children under four years of age. As a general rule, you should always discuss the use of essential oils in children with a doctor or pharmacist first.
- Do not apply the essential oil over a long period of time for baths or large-area rubs – the highly effective ingredient thymol can well pass the skin barrier and trigger symptoms of poisoning above a certain amount.
- The following applies to thyme oil and other essential oils: use only 100 percent naturally pure essential oils – preferably those obtained from plants grown organically or from wild collections.
Before using thyme oil and other essential oils, always check for compatibility, using the arm flex test: Put a drop of the essential oil in the crook of your arm and gently rub it in. If the affected area of skin becomes red, begins to itch and perhaps even forms pustules in the following hours, you cannot tolerate the oil. You should not use it then!
How to get thyme products
You can get thyme as a spice plant in grocery stores and drugstores. However, the medicinal plant in standardized quality is only available in pharmacies. There you will also find a wide variety of dosage forms, such as cough syrup with thyme and also thyme oil.
For the correct use of the preparations, please read the respective package insert and ask your doctor or pharmacist.
What is thyme?
The plant bears numerous small, elongated, stalked leaves. Their underside is heavily felt-like hairy, the leaf edge curled downwards, giving the leaves a needle-like appearance. The lipped flowers, which unfold in the warm season, are pink in color and stand in spike- or head-shaped whorls at the ends of the stems.
The fragrance of the whole plant is very aromatic, especially if you rub the leaves between your fingers. This is because the thyme oil contained in them comes out and exudes its spicy fragrance.
Spanish thyme (T. zygis) is similar to thyme in many ways. However, its leaves are sessile and the flowers whitish.
Probably, the generic name of the plants goes back to the Greek word “thymiama”, which means incense – thyme used to be used in burnt offerings.
Another representative of this plant genus is, for example, wild thyme (also sand thyme or quender, T. serpyllum).
