School of Botanicals by XVET
THYME – Botanical of the Month
THYME – Botanical of the Month
Did you know that Thyme, next to a small handful of other plants, was found to be one of the most promising plants to fight off diseases in the respiratory tract? This was the conclusion of a comprehensive review article by Ayrle et al., 2016, based on ~20000 peer-reviewed publications in the last 2 decades.
Let’s find out together what makes this plant so special:
History of Thyme:
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is an evergreen herbal plant from the mint family and used in all kind of traditional medical applications for humans and animals since the old Egyptian Era. It is well known for all kinds of culinary and medical applications in diverse cultural zones in fresh as well as in dried or extracted form. Wild thyme is mainly grown in the Southern European region, Northern Africa, Southern America. Thyme essential oils are a concentrated form of substances found inside the Thymus vulgaris L. plant and are among the Top 10 of the most used oils in food and cosmetic industry working as preservative and natural antioxidant.
Active Compounds of Thyme:
The biological activity of Thymus vulgaris essential oil is based on the main phenolic components thymol (around 50 %), and carvacrol, further p-cymene, 1,8-cineole, γ-terpinene and many more. The composition and percentages of components may vary between the regions and growing conditions of the thyme plant. The good sourcing of a high-quality thyme oil is therefore of special importance.
Strength of Thyme:
Modern research has shown proof for its anti-bacterial, anti-infective, anti-fungal, anti-helminthic, gastro-protective, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory activities. Thyme oil has shown potential to greatly improve the antioxidant status, to provoke an active immune response if necessary and to improve the intestinal barrier integrity as well as supporting the respiratory tract.
Antimicrobial effects of Thyme
There are multiple reports of the benefits of dietary thyme on poultry, having effects in weight gain and mortality. Not only productions parameters can be improved but there are studies showing that the addition of thyme oil in the diet might improve immunological responses of broilers as well.
Does any XVET product has Thyme?
If you want to make use of these many interesting characteristics of Thymus vulgaris, and to benefit from the effects on respiratory or gastrointestinal tract, we can highly recommend using one of the following products: Aromax – a powerful combination of highly dosed natural essential oils such as thyme oil, mint oil and eucalyptus oil supporting the respiratory system during challenges. Or OregoPlus, a useful blend of essential oils such as thyme, oregano, anise, and tea tree oil, supporting the gastrointestinal tract and working as non-antibiotic growth promoter.
References:
- Medicinal plants-prophylactic and therapeutic options for gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases in calves and piglets? A systematic review. H Ayrle, M Mevissen, M Kaske, H Nathues, N Gruetzner, M Melzig, M Walkenhorst: 2016. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4896019/
- Antibacterial activity against porcine respiratory bacterial pathogens and in vitro biocompatibility of essential oils. G LeBel, K Vaillancourt, P Bercier, D Grenier. 2019. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00203-019-01655-7
- Thymus vulgaris Essential Oil and Its Biological Activity. L Galovičová, P Borotová, V Valková, NL Vukovic, M Vukic, J Štefániková, H Ďúranová, PŁ Kowalczewski, N Čmiková, M Kačániová. 2021. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34579491/
- A systematic review on ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry and pharmacological aspects of Thymus vulgaris Linn. SM Patil, R Ramu, PS Shirahatti, C Shivamallu, RG Amachawadi. 2021. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34041399/
- Thymus vulgaris essential oil and thymol inhibit biofilms and interact synergistically with antifungal drugs against drug resistant strains of Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis. H Jafri, I Ahmad.2020. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32008964/
- Combined effect of conventional antimicrobials with essential oils and their main components against resistant Streptococcus suis strains. F.C. de Aguiar,A.L. Solarte,C. Tarradas,L. Gómez-Gascón,R. Astorga,A. Maldonado,B. Huerta. 2019. https://sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/lam.13151
