Thyme

Thyme

Scientific Name: Thymus vulgaris

In a word: Thyme to Breathe Easy

Uses: Chest Congestion

When your lungs fill up with junk and you are feeling short of breath, you need something to make you feel better right away. In 1993, Americans spent 2.08 billion dollars on over-the-counter medication used to treat congestion in the chest, so at least you are not alone. Does that make you feel any better? No? well, fortunately, there is something in our backyard medicine chest that will.

You all know what chest congestion feels like, but what is really going on in the lungs? Chest congestion is a fairly straightforward situation. First, the inner lining of the lungs becomes irritated either due to the presence of an allergen, a pollutant, a bacteria, or a virus. In response, the mucous membranes produce mucus to help heal the irritated tissue. The problem with this mucous, which isn’t a bad thing in itself, is that it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria. The bacteria works to further irritate the tissue, which in turn produces more mucus. You know the rest; you end up coughing up unspeakable blobs of matter that could make even Mother Teresa feel queasy. Our next plant, thyme, is perfect for lungs in this unfortunate state.

Thyme can be used as a gargle for laryngitis, tonsillitis, and sore throats in general.

Thyme is native to the Mediterranean region. Thanks to its medicinal and culinary virtues, it can now be found wherever the winters are mild. This low-growing, creeping plant is thought to have spread from its original range well into northern Europe along with the Roman soldiers. There is some controversy as to how the plant got its scientific name, Thymus. Some say it comes from the Greek word thumos, or courage, which the plant was believed to convey to the person who drank a tea made of it. Others say it comes from a similar Greek word which means "to fumigate," a use to which the plant was also put in ancient days.

In English herbalism, thyme was the traditional cure for all manner of fills affecting the lungs. Culpepper, a famous herbalist who wrote 500 years ago called thyme "a noble strengthener of the lungs, as notable are as grows, nor is there a better remedy growing for whooping cough. It purgeth the body of phlegm and is an excellent remedy for shortness of breath. It is so harmless you need not fear the use of it." His statement is reiterated by most of the classic English herbalists. In traditional European herbalism, thyme was used to treat respiratory infections, laryngitis, tonsillitis, sore throats, irritable coughs, bronchitis, whooping cough, asthma, and catarrhal coughs. Even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration agrees with Culpepper as to the plant’s harmlessness, rating it "generally recognized as food safe."

The actions of the plant include carminative, antimicrobial, antispasmodic, expectorant, astringent, and anthelmintic. Chemicals contained in the herb responsible for these actions include a volatile oil composed of thymol, carvacrol, cineole, borneol, geraniol, linalool, bornyl and linalyl acetate, thymol methyl ether, and alpha pinene. Its flavonoids include apigenin, luteolin, thymonin, and naringenin. Also included are labiatic acid, caffeic acid, and tannins.

One of the plant’s chief medicinally active ingredients is the crystalline phenol called thymol. First isolated in 1720, it was later studied and found to be a rather amazing substance, powerfully antiseptic, both internally and externally. To make matters better, it is an effective analgesic or painkiller. Early on, thymol was shown to kill bacteria on contact so that it found use in surgical dressings and disinfectants for everything from wounds to surgical theaters.

Thymol and the plant that contains it were used to kill bacteria, and we will continue in this tradition.

If you recall, thyme was used by the Greeks to fumigate. Some say it was used specifically to fumigate sickrooms. Though modern physicians tend to discredit herbal medicine, the ancient custom of burning thyme in a sickroom would have been efficacious. Thymol released into the air by burning the herb would make the patient’s attendants less likely to contract his illness if it were bacterial in nature. Sage and rosemary – close relations of thyme – were also burned in sickrooms, jails, churches, and public halls to stop the spread of diseases such as "jail fever." These plants were being used as bactericides long before bacteria had even been discovered. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that some diseases spread from one individual to another, but how on earth people knew that the smoke from these plants would eradicate the cause of the disease is beyond me.

The beauty of using thyme for chest congestion lies in its three-part action. First, it stimulates the movement of mucus out of the chest cavity; second, it provides antimicrobial chemicals to ensure that the infection is killed; and third, it acts as an antispasmodic, which helps with the pain associated with coughing. Thyme has the ability to increase expectoration while lessening the painful spasms that usually attend the process.

Coughing usually results in throat irritation, and thyme can be used as a gargle for laryngitis, tonsillitis, and sore throats in general. The tannins precipitate the proteins along the tissue which deadens the nerve endings and lessens the pain. Moreover, thyme’s antimicrobial chemicals will work to kill any varmints that may have set up shop. Its antispasmodic, antifungal, antibacterial, and expectorant actions due to thymol and carvacrol will spell relief for the one with the loaded lungs!

Prescription:

Tea: Add two tablespoons dried herb to one cup boiling water, let stand ten minutes, and strain. Drink three times per day or as often as necessary for relief.

Tincture: Add 4ml tincture to one cup water. Drink three times per day.