Thymus vulgaris (thyme creeping) - thymus serpyllum

Family Lumiaceae.

Other names: thyme creeping, Bogorodskaya grass, meshink, thyme vulgaris

Botanical characteristics. Low semishrubs with a thin stem, creeping, rooted, ending with a lying barren branch up to 15 cm in height. Flower-like branches are roundish, erect, more or less evenly pubescent, with inflorescence hairy. Leaves opposite, short-petioled, elliptical or elongate-elliptical, whole-edge, apical leaves rhombic-elliptical. Flowers are irregular, pink or lilac-pink, bisexual or feminine, collected in the axils of the upper leaves in bundles, on branches of branchlets. The corolla of the flower is bilabial, the lower lip is deeply divided into three lobules. The fruit is dry, dark brown. Blossoms thyme from spring to autumn, has a strong honey-like odor.

Spread. It grows mainly in dry coniferous and mixed forests, glades, felling, among bushes, along roads, along slopes of ditches, pastures.

Used parts of the plant. For medicinal purposes, the herb of common thyme is used predominantly. Prepare in the flowering period, carefully cutting, not tearing, so as not to damage the root.

Dry in the shade or in attics, in dryers.

Chemical composition. Grasses contain essential oils (0.5-1.5%), sorbitol, gum, tannic, bitter, anthocyanins, resins, flavonoids, organic acids (malic, ursolic, omanol), mineral salts. In the composition of essential oil, up to 30% of thymol, 20% of carvacrol, and also borneol, cimotherpineol.

Application in medicine

The plant is used in folk and official medicine. Has immunostimulating effect, analgesic and diaphoretic, diuretic, depurative, metabolic effects controlling effects, as a result of which it is widely used as an independently used remedy or in combination with other plants.

Infusion of herbs of thyme ordinary soothingly acts on the functions of the central nervous system, activates the secretion of gastric juice, pancreas, stimulates appetite, acts hypoglycemic.

In folk medicine, infusion of herbs is taken with tracheitis, bronchitis, whooping cough, with cold and inflammatory diseases of the stomach and intestines, with diarrhea and colic, bloating, diseases of the nervous system, joint diseases.

Compresses and poultices from the grass are made with articular rheumatism, traumatic and diabetic polyneuritis, paralysis.

Effective drugs thyme with bedwetting, insomnia, overwork, lack of vitamin C, radiculitis, polyneuritis.

Herbal tincture is used for anemia, tachycardia of hormonal origin, hypertension, uterine bleeding, inflammatory processes in the organs of the sexual sphere.

Decoction of the herb is used externally for pustular skin diseases, burns, eczema, fungal lesions, allergies, boils. Dry powder sprinkled with wounds and wet eczema.

Preparation

• Infusion of herbs of thyme ordinary: 1 tbsp. L. Dry crushed raw materials pour 1 cup boiling water and insist 30 minutes, filter. Take 2 tbsp. L. With 1 tsp. Honey for colds 3 times a day after meals.
• Decoction of thyme creeping: 2 tbsp. L. Crushed dry herbs pour 1 glass of water and boil for 1 minute, and then insist 1 hour in a warm place, filter. Take 0.5 glasses 3 times a day after meals with diabetes, allergies, furunculosis.
• Infusion of thyme and blueberry shoots: 1 tbsp. L. Mixtures of herbs, taken evenly, pour 1 cup of boiling water and insist 30 minutes, filter. Drink two meals after a meal with a cold, diabetes, hypertension, anemia, inflammatory processes.
• Decoction of thyme ordinary for baths: 200 g of dry minced raw material pour 2 liters of water and insist in a warm place for 2 hours, filter. Take a bath with decoction for 12 to 14 minutes with allergies, eczema, boils. On the course - 12 baths every other day.

Contraindications. It should be noted that a contraindication to the use of thyme creeping drugs are peptic ulcer disease, liver disease, kidney disease, pregnancy.

Use in a diet of thyme ordinary

Thymus ordinary (thyme creeping) is a valuable food plant. It is used for cooking salads, as a seasoning for meat and fish dishes. Add it to pickles, sausages, sauces, to game, brew like tea.

Salad with thyme

Cut cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and season with sour cream and salt. Finely chop the flowers of thyme and sprinkle them with a salad.

• Cucumbers - 100 grams,
• Tomatoes - 50 grams,
• Onion - 10 g,
• Thyme - 5 grams,
• Sour cream - 20 grams,
• Salt to taste.

Tea from thyme

1 tsp. Crushed flowers of thyme pour 1 cup of boiling water and insist 5 minutes. Drink with honey.

Tea from cumin and thyme

Dry cumin seeds and thyme flowers are ground into a powder, 1 tsp. Mixtures of plants pour a glass of boiling water and insist 5 minutes. Drink with honey.