Thyme

Common name: Bogorodskaya grass.

Parts Used: Flowering herb. The most valuable raw materials are the upper parts of a flowering plant or leaves alone.

Pharmacy name: thyme herb – Thymi herba (formerly: Herba Thymi), thyme leaves – Thymi folium (formerly: Folia Thymi).

Botanical description. Small subshrub with ascending stems 10-40 cm tall. The stems are tetrahedral, short-pubescent, covered with small, up to 4-10 cm in length, elliptical, short-leaved or sessile leaves. From the underside, the leaves are densely tomentose-pubescent, from above – smooth, tucked along the edge. The flowers are typical of labiales in shape, pale pink, in capitate whorls. The whole plant has a strong specific smell. Blooms from June (May) to August (September). The homeland of this medicinal and aromatic plant is the Mediterranean, where it grows on rocky wastelands and in evergreen shrub forests. In Germany, it is bred in gardens and cultivated on purpose, sometimes it accidentally runs wild.

Collection and preparation. Collect flowering grass, preferably tops with inflorescences. Tied in bunches or spread out grass is dried in partial shade in the air. In dryers, the temperature must not exceed 35°C (as with any raw material containing essential oils).

Active ingredients: essential oil with thymol (up to 50%), carvacrol, borneol, cymol, pinene; some tannins and flavonoids.

Healing action and application.The main active ingredient is essential oil, so the plant has an antispastic and disinfectant effect. It has the best effect on the lungs, bronchi, gastrointestinal tract. Thyme tea or extracts from this medicinal plant in the form of drops and juices soothe convulsive cough, especially with whooping cough, treat chronic and acute bronchitis, and alleviate asthma attacks. Thyme also has a revitalizing effect on the gastrointestinal tract. Thyme tea stimulates the appetite and improves digestion. It eliminates fermentation and spasms, normalizes stools. According to the recommendations of the German National Health Service, the main field of application of thyme is bronchitis, whooping cough and catarrh of the upper respiratory tract. Thyme for making tea is used both in pure form and in mixtures, is part of many cough teas, also gastric; extracts from its herb are an essential part of cough mixtures and elixirs. Thyme baths are indicated for coughs (mainly whooping cough), nervous weakness, rheumatism and bowel disorders.

  • Thyme tea: 1 teaspoon topped with herbs, pour 1/4 liter of water and bring to a boil or pour boiling water and leave for 10 minutes. Strain. Drink 3 cups of tea every day moderately warm, sweeten with honey when coughing.
  • Bath with thyme: Pour 100 g of herbs into 1 liter of boiling water, soak for 15-20 minutes, strain and pour into a bath filled with water.

My special advice. In the majority of cases, mixed teas work better against stomach ailments and convulsive cough.

  • Gathering for gastric tea: Thyme herb 20.0 Cumin fruits 10.0 Peppermint leaves 10.0 Centaury herb 10.0
  • Cough tea: Thyme herb 20.0 Primrose root 10.0 Anise fruits 10.0 Plantain leaves 10.0 Sundew 10.0

How to prepare both teas: pour 2 teaspoons with the top of the mixture into 1/4 liter of boiling water, leave for 10 minutes, strain. Drink 3 cups of tea moderately warm every day. Sweeten cough tea with honey (not for diabetics!), stomach tea does not need to be sweetened.

Use as a condiment. It is clear that spicy medicinal plants that have a beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal tract are also used as seasonings. Thyme, as a seasoning for fatty foods, not only greatly improves and enriches the taste, but also facilitates its digestion. And we are talking not only about fatty meat food, but also about fried potatoes, scrambled eggs with lard, fatty sausage and cheese. An excellent spicy seasoning for stir-fry is made from thyme and rosemary with the addition of salt.

Use in homeopathy. Fresh flowering plants are used to prepare the initial tincture of the homeopathic product Thymus vulgaris. It is used, however, not often, in dilutions D 1 and D 1 for diseases of the stomach and cough.

Application in folk medicine.Different types of thyme were grown in ancient Egypt to flavor the resins used in embalming. It can be assumed that even then thyme was used as a medicine. Judging by the writings of Pliny, Dioscorides and Theophrastus, the Greeks and Romans did it. Thyme penetrated beyond the Alps in the 11th century. The first mention of it can be found in the “Physics” of the abbess Hildegard von Bingen and Albert the Great. From the herbalist P. A. Mattiolus (Prague, 1563), information was obtained for all later herbalists, from where they got into folk medicine; there, for the first time, the “strength and action” of thyme was discussed in detail. In addition to what we have already said, thyme is considered a good remedy “to promote menstruation” in women, it is prescribed for acne and impure skin, and with a little honey added as a fixing agent. In addition, thyme is also used as an antihelminthic, for headaches, and as a gargle for sore throats and hoarseness. Alcohol is made from the essential oil with the active ingredient thymol, which is used to disinfect wounds and for rubbing with senile itching.

Side effects. The most important active ingredient in thyme, thymol, can cause hyperthyroidism. And although this is not to be feared when using thyme in the form of a tea, still avoid overdosing. Who will comply with the prescribed dosage may not be afraid of side effects.

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