An overview on genus Thymus
Journal Title: Journal of Herbal Drugs - Year 2015, Vol 6, Issue 2
Abstract
The genus Thymus L. belongs to the Lamiaceae family, consist of about 215 species of herbaceous perennials and small shrubs in the world. They originated from Mediterranean region. This genus is presented in Iranian flora by 14 species, including: T. daenensis, T. carmanicus, T. fallax, T. persicus, T. trautvetteri, T. migricus, T. kotschyanus, T. pubesens, T. nummularius, T. transcaspicus, T. eriocalyx, T. caucasicus, T. transcaucasicus, and T. fedtschenkoi. Thyme is an aromatic and medicinal herb that has been widely used in folk medicine, food preservatives and pharmaceutical preparations. Overall, this genus is one of the most popular plants throughout the entire world due to its volatile constituents. Thymol and carvacrol are the major compounds in most of the Thymus essential oils. The therapeutic potential of thyme rests on contents of thymol, carvacrol, flavonoids, eugenol, aliphatic phenols as well as luteolin, saponins, and tetra methoxylated flavones. The essential oil of thyme has antibacterial, antiseptic, antifungal, anti-parasitic and antioxidant activity.
Authors and Affiliations
Abdollah Ghasemi Pirbalouti; Zohreh Emami Bistghani; Fatemeh Malekpoor
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