Colds: scientists discover the mechanism of action of thyme
Standardised herbal medicines prepared from thyme extracts alone or in combination with other medicinal herb extracts are proven remedies for colds. Their medical use has been widely confirmed in the scientific community. As one of the most valued medicinal plants, thyme was even recently voted “Medicinal Plant of the Year 2006” by the University of Würzburg. But how can the healing action of thyme be explained? Recently, researchers from the Institute for Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Münster came up with the answer to this question.
Thyme preparations have long been used successfully for the treatment of bronchitis and catarrhal complaints involving the upper respiratory tract. They are known to improve the removal of secretions and thus to accelerate recovery. Previously, however, the mechanism responsible for this effect had not been elucidated. Using standardised experiments, Prof. Dr. Eugen Verspohl of the University of Münster has now unravelled the mechanism of action of this medicinal plant and thus broadened the scientific basis for therapy with thyme.
In pharmacology studies – the results of which he recently presented at a CRNM press conference in Munich – he discovered the following:
- In purified rat lung membranes, the tested thick extract of thyme showed a marked interaction with the beta-2 receptors in the tissue, where it produced a spasmolytic effect.
- In addition, experiments in mouse trachea and in tissue cultures of human bronchial mucosa have shown that ciliary motility is stimulated by the thyme extract, thus facilitating removal of secretions from the respiratory tract.
It has therefore been demonstrated for the first time that thyme possesses two different mechanisms of action which complement each other favourably in the treatment of patients with viral respiratory tract infections: it interacts with the beta-2 receptors to relieve any spasms present in the muscles of the respiratory tract and it simultaneously facilitates the removal of mucus by increasing ciliary activity.
CRNM 3/2006 –9 February 2006
