Thyme preparations are used primarily for the treatment of respiratory diseases such as colds and bronchitis. In irritable and whooping cough, thyme relieves coughing attacks.
Beneficial effects of thyme
Furthermore, the plant can also serve to relieve gastrointestinal complaints, such as flatulence or stomach cramps.
Locally, thyme is used for inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth and throat and small wounds. The essential oil can be used in the form of a bath additive for skin itching and inflamed mucous membranes of the bronchi.
Application in folk medicine and homeopathy
Thyme has been used as a medicinal herb for a very long time, for example, the Egyptians used the herb to embalm their dead. Because of its antispasmodic effect, thyme is used today in folk medicine as a stomachic, antiflatulent, diuretic and vermifuge.
However, another major use of thyme is in spice cooking and as an additive to many alcoholic beverages.
In homeopathy, thyme is taken for bronchial diseases.
Ingredients of thyme
The essential oil in thyme, as the most significant complex of active ingredients, varies greatly in its exact composition. Oil of good quality has a high content of thymol and carvacrol.
Other constituents include tannins, phenolic carboxylic acids, caffeic acid, flavonoids, triterpenes and several polymethoxyflavones.
Thyme: Indication
Medicinal indications of thyme are:
- Respiratory diseases
- Common cold
- Bronchitis
- Cough, whooping cough
- Gastrointestinal complaints,
- Flatulence
- Cramps
- Mucosal inflammation
- Wounds
- Skin itching
