Thyme

Thyme’s spicy, clove-like flavor is excellent in soups, stews, roasts and vegetables.

Creole and Cajun cooks use thyme by the handful. A must in clam chowder, thyme also complements tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and onions. Season rice with fresh thyme.

Thyme - Potted

Potted herbs can be placed on a kitchen counter or windowsill and used throughout the season with proper care, great for last minute inspirations that add a special "wow" to any meal.

Thyme - Fresh Cut

Fresh cut herbs are great for immediate use and can generally be stored for several days.

More on Thyme (Garden Thyme)

Features
Nutrition
Medicinal
Research
Use

Garden Thyme or Thymus vulgaris is most widely cultivated in the US. This variety is most commonly used in herb gardens and nurseries. Other varieties of interest are Spanish thyme (T. zygis) and lemon thyme (T. x citriodora). Often used but less effective are wild thyme and African wild thyme. These other varieties have reduced thymol content and some even lack flavonoid content.

This report will be on Garden Thyme.

Features and Benefits (based on home remedies) of Thyme

The most important active agent in Thyme is the volatile thyme oil. Major constituents of thyme oil are 70% thymol. Other constituents of the oil are carvacrol, cineole and linalool. The herb also contains many vital flavonoids. These are the ploymethoxyflavones.
- Antifungal
- Strongly antibiotic
- Anti-spasmodic
- Getting rid of intestinal worms
- Flavoring agent
- Improve memory (act as antioxidant)
- Prophylaxis from Alzheimer’s disease
- Anti-inflammatory
- Antitussive, expectorant
- Treatment of minor wounds and skin abrasions
- Used in bath water for relief of itching skin
- Used to manage bedwetting both in children and adults. Thyme tea taken 2 hours before bedtime helps children with bladder control and bedwetting incidences
- Management of acne
- Prevent tooth decay
- Used in kitchens to flavor different dishes
- Used to purify drinking water. Makes water potable when water source is not so clean. A few sprigs of thyme are added to boiling water and kept in there when cooling down. This acts as antibacterial and adds a great flavor to water.
- Combat bad breath

Vitamin/Nutritional Content

Ratio of DRIED to FRESH thyme is 1:3
Columns display values of 1 gm of DRIED THYME. This is equal to 3 gm of FRESH THYME.

Nutrient	Unit	3 g of FRESH THYME	1 g of DRIED THYME
Proximates
Water	g	1.98	0.08
Energy	kcal	3	3
Protein	g	0.17	0.09
Total lipid (fat)	g	0.05	0.07
Carbohydrate, by difference	g	0.74	0.64
Fiber, total dietary	g	0.4	0.4
Minerals
Calcium, Ca	mg	12	19
Iron, Fe	mg	0.53	1.24
Magnesium, Mg	mg	5	2
Phosphorus, P	mg	3	2
Potassium, K	mg	19	8
Sodium, Na	mg	0	1
Zinc, Zn	mg	0.06	0.06
Vitamins
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid	mg	4.9	0.5
Thiamin	mg	0.001	0.005
Riboflavin	mg	0.014	0.004
Niacin	mg	0.055	0.049
Vitamin B-6	mg	0.011	0.006
Folate, DFE	Âµg	1	3
Vitamin B-12	Âµg	0	0
Vitamin A, RAE	Âµg	7	2
Vitamin A, IU	IU	144	38
Vitamin D (D2 + D3)	Âµg	0	0
Vitamin D	IU	0	0
Lipids
Fatty acids, total saturated	g	0.014	0.027
Fatty acids, total monounsaturated	g	0.002	0.005
Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated	g	0.016	0.012
Cholesterol	mg	0	0

Medicinal/Pharmacological Uses of Thyme (based on Research Papers)
1. Anti-inflammatory activity at a cellular level. This has shown protective effect on brain cells. Protects the brain cells against the oxidative damage associated with stress and ageing.
2. Shown great result on rat brain cells especially protecting memory. Being studied for its use as a prophylactic approach to the management of Alzheimer’s disease.
3. Thymol is used in dental products to combat tooth decay. Also used as a breath freshener.
4. Thymol has shown great results in the management of Sore Throat pain. Gargles with diluted thymol in alcoholic base have shown to reduce the recovery time in sore throat infections by half.
5. Antiseptic and antibacterial both internally and externally. Often used to treat external wounds and taken internally to help with gastrointestinal infections.
6. Great antifungal. Especially useful in the management of Candida infections. Thymol should be used to fungal infections of the toe-nail.
7. Also used to treat Swimmer’s Ear.
8. Useful in improving memory and some management of Alzheimer’s/Memory loss. Has been used by students to improve on grades.
Aromatherapy

Thyme oil is used in baths for its stress relieving qualities and also as an anti-bacterial inhalant.

8-10 drops of oil are added to steam pots to relieve congestion and upper respiratory tract afflictions.
Current Research

Research suggests that:
- Thyme is a great prophylactic agent to protect brain cells. Prevention is better than cure is the thought behind this research. Studies in rats and mice have shown encouraging results. It will be a while before human studies are published.
- Thymol crosses the blood-brain barrier and hence exerts its protective actions on the brain cells
- Thymol is being used alongside antibiotics in order to suppress antibiotic drug resistance. Scientists at the University of Manitoba, Canada, wrote in the International Journal of Food Microbiology that thymol can reduce bacterial resistance to common drugs such as penicillin.
- A study evaluated the efficacy of thymol and carvacrol against cognitive deficits induced by amyloid β (Aβ) or scopolamine. Rats received bilateral intrahippocampal injections of Aβ (25–35) or intraperitoneal injections of scopolamine, and the effect of different doses of thymol, or carvacrol (0.5, 1, or 2 mg/kg) on cognitive function was determined. Animals were subjected to 5 days of training in the Morris water maze: 4 days with an invisible platform to test spatial learning and the 5th day with a visible platform to test motivation and sensorimotor coordination. The acute toxicities of thymol and carvacrol were also studied. The results showed increases in escape latency and decreases in target quadrant entries in Aβ or scopolamine-treated groups. These impairments were reversed by pretraining administration of either thymol or carvacrol. The calculated LD₅₀’s of thymol (565.7 mg/kg) and carvacrol (471.2 mg/kg) were found to be much higher than their therapeutic doses (thymol 0.5 mg/kg, carvacrol 1 mg/kg). These findings provide preliminary positive evidence for the effectiveness and safety of thymol and carvacrol in alleviating cognitive impairments caused by increased Aβ levels or cholinergic hypofunction. Anticholinesterase, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities may be the mechanisms contributing toward their beneficial effects in these models. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22470103)
- In short, the above study shows that thymol prevents the onset of memory impairment as seen in Alzheimer’s. If Alzheimer’s is already set in, thymol can reduce the speed with which it develops.
- Thymol and carvacrol have been studied for their protective role in heart health.
- Thymol has been used to successfully control varroa mites and prevent fermentation and the growth of mold in bee colonies.
- Thymol is also used as a rapidly degrading, non-persisting pesticide.
Why Living Plant is More Useful Than Dried or Fresh Cut Thyme
- Fresh herb is better than dried, is the general rule here.
- However, in the case of thyme, there is not much of a difference between fresh and dried. Thymol is a sturdy chemical in that it has a melting point close to 124 oF. Dried thyme is similar to fresh thyme in its volatile oil content.
Ways to Use Fresh Thyme

Lemon Thyme Cod
1. Useful in the preparation of meats. Place 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme with meat before roasting/baking.
2. Very useful in the preparation of fish/seafood dishes. When used alongside dill, these herbs will mask the unpleasant smell of fish.
3. Place dried thyme sprig in your bottle of olive oil, or any other oil. This will keep the oil fresh for longer. Thyme reduces the incidence of rancidity in oils.
4. Crush dried thyme in butter, for a great flavored butter, and protect butter from rancidity.
5. Make thyme tea and add some honey to it. Works great for small children when suffering from coughs and colds. You can add carbonated water and sugar to thyme tea and turn it into a ‘healthy’ soda for the kids.
6. Thyme is great for making and tomato based sauces. Next time when making a pasta sauce, use thyme with tomatoes and it will add great flavor to any dish.
7. Cough remedy – 1 teaspoon of fresh crushed thyme with 1 teaspoon of honey and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.
8. Thyme is heavenly in scalloped potatoes. Boil your sliced potatoes in some milk, cream, and butter with a couple heaping teaspoons of the fresh thyme leaves. Also throw in some chives if you have them. Once it comes to a boil, taste and add salt & pepper, then put it all in your baking dish and arrange the slices, cover with foil and bake 40 minutes, then another 10 uncovered or till top is brown and it's bubbly. It smells and tastes fantastic!