Thyme
- Type
- Plant
- Botanical name
- Thymus vulgaris
- Other names
- common thyme, garden thyme
Plant
Common thyme forms a low mound and grows best in dry, sandy or rocky soil in full sun, with good drainage; it tolerates frost and drought. It is best harvested just before it flowers, when the essential oil content of the leaves is highest.[1]
The word thyme comes from the Greek word "thumos", "courage", or perhaps from "thymos", "perfume"; in the Middle Ages thyme was an emblem of bravery. The species name vulgaris is Latin for "common".[1]
Uses
Thyme has been used in cooking since ancient times, to flavour cheeses, liqueurs and meats such as rabbit, boar and lamb, and today it is a common part of bouquet garni and herbes de Provence.[2]
In herbal medicine, thyme extract is traditionally taken by mouth for indigestion and for coughs due to colds, bronchitis and whooping cough, and used as a gargle for laryngitis and tonsillitis and on the skin for minor wounds. As of 1999, none of these uses was supported by clinical data. Thyme preparations should not be used in pregnancy or while breastfeeding, and people sensitive to plants of the mint family should consult a doctor first.[4]
Thyme oil
Thyme essential oil is distilled from the flowering plant of Thymus vulgaris or Thymus zygis.[3] Garden thyme occurs in many chemotypes, types of differing oil composition named after their main component, such as linalool, geraniol, thymol or carvacrol.[2]
Products containing it
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 North Carolina State University Extension, Thymus vulgaris. Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Prabodh Satyal et al., Essential Oil Characterization of Thymus vulgaris from Various Geographical Locations. Foods 2016, 5(4), 70, doi 10.3390/foods5040070.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 United States Pharmacopeia, Food Chemicals Codex, Thyme Oil, 2008: Description.
- ↑ World Health Organization (WHO), WHO monographs on selected medicinal plants, Volume 1. Geneva, 1999: Herba Thymi.