Thyme Syrup is formulated by Scotland's longest practicing medical herbalist, Brian Lamb. It was first inspired by a recipe found in the British Pharmaceutical Codex 1934 and has been refined and perfected by Brian Lamb's applied understanding of herbal extraction techniques, resulting a highly effective and completely natural syrup. For more than 20 years, Thyme Syrup has been manufactured and bottled in the Highlands of Scotland providing relief to many for both chronic and acute respiratory conditions.
About Thyme
A brief history of Thyme
Common Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is a sweet-smelling aromatic herb, native to the Mediterranean but is widely cultivated elsewhere. It grows close to the ground and typically has pale pink or purple flowers. The fragrance from the leaves is due to the essential oil and is also the source of some of its medicinal properties. It is a traditional remedy for the lungs and also has a positive effect on the digestive system.
Thyme's reputation as a healing herb goes back thousands of years. The antiseptic and medicinal properties of Thyme have been universally recognised throughout the ages with the ancient Egyptians using it as an embalming agent and Hippocrates recording the medicinal properties of Thyme in his materia medica. Monasteries also grew thyme in the middle ages for cough, digestive complaints and parasites. Before the science of infection was well understood, nurses in the 19th century would dress wounds in bandages soaked in Thyme water. Modern science continues to endorse the traditional uses of Thymus vulgaris in medicine through a growing body of scientific research.
““a noble strengthener of the lungs, as notable a one as grows, nor is there a better remedy growing for hooping 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.”
Nicholas Culpepper (Herbalist and Physician) Complete Herbal 1653”
“ Boil in one pound of water, three tablespoons of thyme and leave it in the water for 10 minutes.
Drink two glasses per day to cure bronchitis. “ Hippocrates 400BC”
Thyme Heals
Thymus vulgaris has been used for centuries for acute and chronic respiratory diseases due to Thyme's numerous actions on the lungs:
EXPECTORANT medication that helps expel mucus from the lungs
ANTISEPTIC antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal
ANTISPASMODIC relaxes smooth muscle of the lungs
ANTITUSSIVE reduces cough reflex
Traditional uses of Thymus vulgaris - the active ingredient of Thyme Syrup
BRONCHITIS - whooping cough - asthma - bronchitis - laryngitis pharyngitis - Chronic cough - catarrh - common cold
The rise and fall and rise again of Thyme Syrup
The famed British Pharmaceutical Codex 1934 gave a recipe for thyme syrup for the physician's guide and for the pharmacist to dispense. The discovery of antibiotics soon pushed this and many other ‘simple’ remedies off the shelves. Whilst antibiotics have saved millions of lives, we now realise that routine and over prescription has resulted in resistance to these drugs and the use of remedies such as Thyme Syrup still has a place. Although Thyme Syrup is based on the BPC 1934 the recipe has been extensively upgraded to incorporate new techniques. Molasses sugar is used for its rich spectrum of minerals and thyme is incorporated by means of a three-stage process to retain all the virtues of the herb. Medical herbalists prescribe extracts of Thyme for bronchitis, laryngitis, pharyngitis, catarrh, asthma, whooping cough and the common cold.
Thyme was approved in 1994 by German Commission E (a German advisory agency made up of pharmacists, toxicologists, physicians and scientists to evaluate the usefulness of herbs by means of the scientific literature, clinical studies and case studies to provide scientific expertise and produce monographs. They are the German equivalent of the Food and Drug Administration) for symptoms of bronchitis, whooping cough and for catarrh.
The European Medicines Evaluation Agency (for the protection of public health through scientific evaluation and supervision of medicines) as a traditional herbal medicines product as an expectorant for cough to a cold virus. Health Canada (department of government responsible for public health) approved the traditional uses of Thyme as an expectorant and for symptoms of bronchitis, upper respiratory catarrh and to relieve cough.
Medicinal herbs are man's oldest form of medicine and approximately 80% of the world's population still use herbal medicine as their primary healthcare. There is an ever increasing body of scientific evidence validating the historical medical uses of plants such as Thyme. But this should come as no surprise as approximately half of all drugs today have their origins in a discovery made in a plant.
Science confirms you are not wasting your Thyme
The principal components of thyme are carvacol, borneol, geraniol and thymol, the latter being the most researched for its known antiseptic and anti-fungal characteristics.
Thyme's direct effect on the lungs
Thymol (the essential oil component of Thyme) is detected in the breath after oral administration. In treating acute and chronic respiratory ailments such as bronchitis, the effectiveness of preparations containing thyme essential oil depend on bioavailability at the bronchial mucosa. After oral administration of tablets or capsules containing a thyme dry extract to healthy volunteers the first traces of thymol were detected in exhaled air (using sensors fitted to a gas mask) after 30 and 60 minutes respectively.
Thymol is widely used in mouthwashes, hand sanitizers and acne treatment due to its strong antiseptic qualities
Expectorant
Thyme extract was found to stimulate the mucociliary escalator which is a major defense against infections. The mucociliary escalator refers to barrier cells that line the upper respiratory tract. The cells produce mucus which contains chemicals, antibodies and immune cells to destroy any bacteria and viruses that become trapped. The barrier cells also have hairs, or cilia, which beat upwards, sweeping debris out of the respiratory tract, hence the term muco-ciliary escalator.
"Changes in the symptoms of cough after treatment with a combined herbal preparation containing dry ivy leaf extract as main active ingredient, decoction of thyme and aniseed, and mucilage of marshmallow root and its tolerability were investigated in an open clinical trial on 62 patients with a mean age of 50 years (range 16-89) with irritating cough in consequence of common cold (n = 29), bronchitis (n = 20) or respiratory tract diseases with formation of viscous mucus (n = 15). The mean daily intake was 10 ml (range 7.5-15) of syrup, and the mean duration of treatment was 12 days (range 3-23 days). All symptom scores showed an improvement as compared to baseline." http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/Herbal_-_HMPC_assessment_report/2009/12/WC500017944.pdf
Antispasmodic
Spasmolytic activity of the flavonoids from Thymus vulgaris
Impact of thymol in thyme extracts on their antispasmodic action and ciliary clearance.
Thyme extract, but not thymol, inhibits endothelin-induced contractions of isolated rat trachea.
Antibacterial
Ancient Egyptians used Thyme extracts as an embalming ingredient because of its strong antibacterial and antifungal properties:
In vitro inhibition of Helicobacter pylori by extracts of thyme.
Thyme essential oil has also been found to inhibit Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.
Antifungal
Very exciting new research providing another remarkable reason why thyme supports lung health. Thyme extract, before it is incorporated into the nutrient rich syrup is INTENSELY bitter!
Bitter taste receptors regulate upper respiratory defense system:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121008134025.htm
further research...
Thymol attenuates allergic airway inflammation in ovalbumin (OVA)-induced mouse asthma.
Carvacrol and thymol; Strong antimicrobial agents against resistant isolates
Thyme with other herbs
Thyme's potential use in protecting against particulate matter in diesel fumes and other air pollutants
Diesel fumes are now recognised as a major carcinogen and also the cause of at least 7% of heart attacks in cities. The fumes contain particulate matter (PM) and are quoted for example as PM10 and the 10 refers to 10 millionths of a metre. PM10’s are inhaled into the lungs and can cause serious damage to the lungs, but the smaller PM2.5’s pass through the lung tissue and into the blood circulation. Even short-term exposure to PM2.5 over a few hours can trigger myocardial infarctions, cardiac ischemia, arrhythmias, heart failure, stroke, exacerbation of peripheral arterial disease, and sudden death. Thyme's stimulatory effect on the muco-cilliary escalator may provide unique protection against environmental air pollutants, by the expectoration and removal through protective mucus secretion and activation of the hair-like cilliary escalator, moving the trapped particles upwards and outwards.
Traditional medicinal use of Thymus vulgaris: symptoms of bronchitis and whooping cough; catarrh of upper respiratory tract, symptomatic treatment of coughs, laryngitis, catarrhal congestion
Contraindications: none known
Side effects: none known
Interactions with other drugs: none known