Thyme

Thymus vulgaris

Thyme

Other Names:

Common Thyme, German Thyme, Garden Thyme

Benefits

Antioxidant
Antibacterial
Antiseptic
Antihelminthic
Antifungal
Antiviral
Insect-repellent
Hepatoprotective

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is an everygreen herb from the mint family. It has been used for culinary, medicinal, ornamental and folk medicine uses in a variety of different cultures. Thyme is used in fresh and dried form, a whole sprig (a single stem snipped from the plant), and as an essential oil extracted from the plant parts. Volatile oils of thyme are among the main essential oils used in the food industry and in cosmetics as preservatives and antioxidants. Specific applications studied in poultry include:

Antioxidant: Thyme oil shows potential for improvement of intestinal barrier integrity, antioxidant status as well as evoking an immune response in chickens.
Antibacterial: Thyme oil (1 g/kg of diet) proved to be effective in reducing Coliform counts when it was used to create a spray for the purpose of hygiene improvement.

Poultry Specific Studies

Type	Plant Part	Dosage	Specific use	Results	Ref
Chickens	essential oil	1.0 g/kg diet	Growth enhancer	May be used as a potential growth enhancer for broilers living in warm weather conditions.	Y Attia et al., 2016
Chickens	essential oil	200 ml/kg in diet for 10 days	candidiasis, Candida albicans	Administration of clove powder and thyme oil improved the symptoms induced by Candida albicans and increased PCV %, ALT and AST level, with a decrease in erythrocyte count and total leukocyte count. Clove powder increased creatinine levels, while thyme oil decreased them. The tested plants induced marked histopathological alteration in crop, lung, intestine and gizzard of treated birds.	G Fatah et al., 2020
Chickens	extract	5 mg/mL	antibacterial, Salmonella enteritidis	reduced fecal shedding and cecal counts of Salmonella enteritidis in the broiler chickens.	V Elmi et al., 2020
Chickens	essential oil	0.1 and 0.25 mg/kg	immunity	can promote protein metabolism, enhance lipolysis and strengthen the immune function.	Z Zhu et al., 2014
Chickens	leaves and flowers	1% w/w in the diet	animal performance	The data do not indicate a positive effect of thyme on animal performance.	A Haselmeyer et al., 2014

References

Ahmadian, Amir et al.. "Growth, Carcass Composition, Haematology and Immunity of Broilers Supplemented with Sumac Berries ( Rhus coriaria L.) and Thyme ( Thymus vulgaris) " Animals (2020)
Mousavi, Asma et al.. "Efficacy of essential oils combination on performance, ileal bacterial counts, intestinal histology and immunocompetence of laying hens fed alternative lipid sources " Journal of animal physiology and animal nutrition vol. 102,5 (2018)
Císarová M, Taninová D, Medo J, Kaániová M.. "The in vitro effect of selected essential oils on the growth and mycotoxin production of Aspergillus species." J Environ Sci Health B. (2016)
Alipour F1, Hassanabadi A2, Golian A1, Nassiri-Moghaddam H1.. "Effect of plant extracts derived from thyme on male broiler performance" Poultry Science (2015)
Haselmeyer A, Zentek J, Chizzola R.. "Effects of thyme as a feed additive in broiler chickens on thymol in gut contents, blood plasma, liver and muscle." Journal of Science, Food, and Agriculture (2015)
Song AR, Qin D, Zhao C, Sun XL, Huang F, Kong C, Yang S.. "Immunomodulatory effect of polysaccharides extracted from the medicinal mushroom Antrodia camphorata (higher Basidiomycetes) in specific pathogen-free chickens." International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms (2014)
Placha I, Takacova J, Ryzner M, Cobanova K, Laukova A, Strompfova V, Venglovska K, Faix S.. "Effect of thyme essential oil and selenium on intestine integrity and antioxidant status of broilers." British Poultry Science (2014)
Zeng ZK, Li QY, Piao XS, Liu JD, Zhao PF, Xu X, Zhang S, Niu S. "Forsythia suspensa extract attenuates corticosterone-induced growth inhibition, oxidative injury, and immune depression in broilers." Poultry Science (2014)
Witkowska D, Sowinska J.. "The effectiveness of peppermint and thyme essential oil mist in reducing bacterial contamination in broiler houses." Poultry Science (2013)
Chunmei K, Zhujun Z, Xiuhui Z. "Effects of Gan lian Yu ping feng powder on the antibody titers to infectious laryngotracheitis vaccine and some nonspecific immune indexes in chickens." African Journal of Traditional Complementry Alternative Medicine (2013)
Park IJ, Cha SY, Kang M, Jang HK.. "Immunomodulatory effect of a proanthocyanidin-rich extract from Pinus radiata bark by dosing period in chickens." Poultry Science (2013)
Hammershøj M, Steenfeldt S.. "The effects of kale (Brassica oleracea ssp. acephala), basil (Ocimum basilicum) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris) as forage material in organic egg production on egg quality." British Poultry Science (2012)
Rahimi, S., Teymori Zadeh, Z., Torshizi, K., Omidbaigi, R., & Rokni, H. "Effect of the three herbal extracts on growth performance, immune system, blood factors and intestinal selected bacterial population in broiler chickens" Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology (2011)
Amad AA, Männer K, Wendler KR, Neumann K, Zentek J. "Effects of a phytogenic feed additive on growth performance and ileal nutrient digestibility in broiler chickens." Poultry Science (2011)
Yi Y, Liao ST, Zhang MW, Zhang RF, Deng YY, Yang B, Wei ZC. "Immunomodulatory activity of polysaccharide-protein complex of longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour.) pulp." Molecules (2011)
Burt, Sara A., and Robert D. Reinders.. "Antibacterial activity of selected plant essential oils against Escherichia coli O157:H7 " Letters in applied microbiology 36.3 (2003)

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