What Is Thyme Oil Used For?

Although thyme is best known as a culinary herb, the oil distilled from the leaves and flowering tops of the native Mediterranean plant performs many aromatic and medicinal functions. Sixty varieties of thyme are cultivated in southern Europe, according to a report by the George Mateljan Foundation. The foundation lists it among the world's healthiest foods because of its vitamin K, iron, manganese, calcium, antioxidant and flavonoid content.

Distillation of the Oil

• Most of today's thyme oil is produced in or around Nimes, France, reports Botanical.com. Distillation takes place when the herb is flowering, in May or June, and again during the fall. Optimally, the leaves and flowers should be collected on a dry day and transported to the distillery immediately. The principal components of the oil are the phenols thymol and carvacrol, both of which demonstrate valuable medicinal properties. Thyme oil comes in two commercial grades: the red, a cruder version; and the white or colorless, which has been refined by re-distilling.

Aromatic Uses

• Like the plant it derives from, thyme oil has a pleasant, spicy scent. For centuries, it has been used to improve the smells associated with living and dying. One of its earliest applications was to embalm corpses. Beginning in the 16th century, thyme oil served as a mouthwash and deodorant, according to the George Mateljan Foundation. Long before that, ancient Greeks burned it for incense in their sacred temples. Although the fragrant oil is not suitable for making fine perfume, it may be added to soap as a scenting agent.

Respiratory and Digestive Benefits

• A spray consisting of thymol in an oily solution has proved beneficial in reducing nasal congestion, reports Botanical.com. Spirits of thyme oil may be inhaled as an expectorant by sufferers of bronchitis, laryngitis and whooping cough. In experiments with cats, injections of thyme oil increased respiratory volume while lowering blood pressure, according to Springboard for Health. In the gastrointestinal tract, treatment with the oil has shown antispasmodic benefits, as well as relieving flatulence. When given in large-dose capsules to otherwise healthy adults, thyme oil has caused them to expel parasites, particularly the miner's worm.

Fighting Bacteria and Inflammation

• One of thyme oil's most important contributions is its ability to prevent contamination by bacteria, and even to decontaminate foods already inhabited by organisms such as Staphalococcus, E. coli and Shigella. The George Mateljan Foundation cites an article published in "Food Microbiology" reporting that washing lettuce contaminated with Shigella in a 1-percent solution of thyme essential oil brought the bacteria count down to an undetectable level. Much like the resveratrol found in red wine, scientists have identified the carvacrol in thyme oil as effective in suppressing the inflammatory COX-2 enzyme. In Science Daily's account of a Japanese study of six essential oils, they report that thyme oil surpassed the others, reducing COX-2 levels nearly 75 percent.