What is thyme, what are its benefits? Where is thyme used?
Many benefits of thyme are known. Its tiny leaves have an invigorating scent and ensure that all dishes made with meat have a pleasant taste.
A brief history of thyme
Thyme is traditionally picked together with parsley and bay leaves and turned into a condiment called a French bouquet garni, which is added to soups, stews and some other main dishes. Small thyme leaves contain an essential oil with significant antiseptic properties. Etruscans and Egyptians used thyme to mummify their dead. In many early cultures, thyme was associated with death as well as "the moment" (time).
Its pale purple flowers were believed to bring peace to the souls of the dead. In ancient Greece, thyme was burned in funerals; They used it as incense in temples and as an insect repellent fumigant in homes. This herb was also believed to have encouraging properties. The genus name of thyme comes from the Greek word for "courage" or "smoke". The courage part traced the thyme to England with the Romans. During the Middle Ages, the ladies of the king's entourage greeted their knights in shawls decorated with thyme sprigs.
What is Thyme?
The genus Thymus has more than 220 species; most of these species are dwarf, spreading and small green shrubs and grow naturally in the Mediterranean region. The best-known thyme is Thymus vulgaris, which means "common", as the name vulgaris suggests. It is a perennial shrub that grows mostly on rocks and dry, coarse-grained soil, up to 50 cm tall. It has small, lanceolate, short or oval leaves. The leaves emit an acrid lemony scent when you rub them with your hand; this is the scent we know as thyme. The tiny whitish-pink to pale lavender flowers are carried by a tight helical connecting head. The upper and lower teeth of the two-lipped calyx vary in size and shape. It blooms from ' to August.
In Antik Kuruyemiş, besides the thyme plant, thyme oil , thyme juice , thyme tea and ball thyme are sold in the online store as other thyme products.
Vitamins in Thyme
Another important feature of thyme is that it is a plant rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. There are iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, manganese minerals and vitamins A, C, E, K, B6 in thyme.
What are the Benefits of Thyme?
The medicinal use of thyme dates back to the first century AD. The Greeks used this herb for nervousness, and the Romans for melancholy. At the same time, they would wake those who fainted and those who had epileptic seizures with thyme. In medieval Europe and England it was used to heal everything from digestive problems to rheumatism and menstrual complaints. Thyme tea was drunk against cough and flu. In recent centuries, it has become famous as a popular remedy for digestive problems and lung infections.
Until World War I, oregano oil was used as a battlefield antiseptic. Today, herbalists have recommended thyme for coughs, colds, flu, bronchitis, and asthma. They also used this herb for digestive problems because thyme has the effect of softening the muscles of the stomach and intestines. Thyme's tiny flowers and leaves seem to be inversely proportional to its healing for respiratory ailments. 50-70 AD: Roman physician Pilnius the Great said that thyme " healed the aberrations of the mind ."
1719 : German chemist C. Neumann separated the active component of thyme, thymol.
1767 : The English Physician, Enlarged, called thyme "strengthens the lungs".
1994 : Tobacco companies added thyme oil to their cigarette content while counting the substances used.
Benefits : Cough, Cold and flu
Thyme is one of the few herbs used both as a spice and as a medicine. Its aromatic components – also called essential oils – are the important part of thyme leaves and flowers. The essential oil of thyme relieves cough in two ways. Thyme is both an antispasmodic and an expectorant. So this herb not only reduces cough but also helps to clear bronchial phlegm. Some essential oils (such as thymol and carvacrol-thyme oil) in thyme have aromatic properties. Most studies on the proportion of carvacrol oregano with high carvacrol oil (oregano) gets its resources from research on oil. Carvacrol and thymol are also components that allow thyme to have an expectorant effect and prevent bacteria, viruses and fungi. Most of the bacteria and viruses observed in laboratory studies that cause upper respiratory tract infections and colds can be prevented with oregano oil.
Some clinical studies have been conducted on the use of thyme in cough and upper respiratory tract infections. In one study, thyme and evening primrose oil were used together on patients suffering from bronchitis; It was observed that the group using the thyme product coughed less than the placebo group. However, since thyme was not used as a single vaccine in this study, the result of the study does not give the final result.
How to Make Thyme Tea?
Tea : You can put 1 or 2 teaspoons of fresh or dried thyme leaves and flowers in 1 glass of hot water and drink it 3 times a day.
Thyme Tea : Add one teaspoon of dried thyme leaves to a glass of hot water. Cover the glass so that important essential oils do not evaporate. Strain and add honey to sweeten. By covering the back of the throat like a layer, honey reinforces the expectorant property of thyme. Drink several times a day for cough complaints.
Capsule/Syrup : Thyme extracts are available in capsules and syrups with different doses. Many of these products mix thyme with other herbs, especially when used for respiratory ailments. The way of use varies according to each product.
How Is Thyme Grown?
Growing naturally in the dry, rocky soils of Southern Europe, thyme is particularly identified with Spain, Portugal, Southern France, Italy and the mountains of Greece. It began to be cultivated in English gardens as of 1548 and was first cultivated in American gardens in 1806 or earlier. Historically, a narrow-leaved form was grown in orchards on the continent of Northern Europe, and this species was called "narrow-leaf thyme." The broader leaf form was grown in England and is now sold as English thyme, and is called "broadleaf thyme". Regardless of its origin, common thyme varies widely.
Common thyme has been a "sweet herb" in constant demand in gardens for centuries. Thyme reproduces by seed, cuttings, dipping, or division. Of course, you can ask a friend to split the root or buy the plant from any nursery. If we want the plant to maintain its desirable genetic characteristics we need to propagate by cuttings or by root division. If propagated by seed, unexpected deviations may occur. Thyme needs space to spread, so there should be at least 30 cm between each. In 3 or 4 years it becomes woody and begins to die in the middle. Expanding cultivation and Shrubs can be divided to improve appearance Thyme likes light, warm, dry, well-drained and slightly alkaline soil.
Most commercially available thyme was grown in Eastern and Western Europe.
Thyme, a stunted plant, poses a problem for commercial production. Handpicking requires human resources and causes intense backaches, like pruning grass with garden shears. One solution found by foreign specialty manufacturers is a mechanical combine with horizontal rotating blades. This tool is similar to the weed eater on steroids. Most of the thyme consumed in the United States was grown in this region until recently, but like all commodities and production processes, thyme production has been shifted to countries with cheap labor.
Pregnant women and those with goiter should not use
The benefits of thyme juice are similar to thyme. Thyme juice offers supportive help for some diseases in a shorter time. Thyme; While it is used to get rid of alcohol habits as well as cough, germ cleansing, antioxidant, digestion, itching, acne and insomnia, it should not be used by pregnant women and those with goiter.
Source : Hurriyet