Thyme
Thymus vulgaris L.Lamiaceae // leaf · flowering aerial parts · essential oil
Overview
Plant parts
leaf, flowering aerial parts, essential oil
Known constituents
thymol, carvacrol, rosmarinic acid
Research corpus coverage
Chemistry notes
- CHEMISTRY: Relevant reported constituents include thymol; carvacrol; rosmarinic acid; constituent presence alone does not establish clinical efficacy.
Uses & Evidence
Traditional / historical use
Documented traditional use — not a claim of established efficacy.
TRADITIONAL: Thyme has been used for productive cough; digestive complaints; topical antisepsis; this records historical/traditional use and does not establish efficacy.
MODERATE · regulatory monograph · EMA European Union herbal monographs and list entries
Modern evidence
EVIDENCE: For the major use set (productive cough; digestive complaints; topical antisepsis), the evidence assessment is limited/mixed: Traditional-use support; limited clinical evidence often from combination products.
MODERATE · regulatory monograph and mixed scientific literature · EMA European Union herbal monographs and list entries
Mixed findings, product heterogeneity, or indirect evidence are preserved in the detailed profile.
Preparation
Forms used traditionally
A listed form does not imply it suits every plant part, or that one preparation is interchangeable with another — see the plant’s own notes below.
PREPARATION: The medicinal material is leaf; flowering aerial parts; essential oil; traditional and modern forms include infusion/tea, tincture, powder/capsule, extract, diluted topical essential-oil preparation, inhalation/aromatic preparation. No dose or potency is specified.
MODERATE · regulatory monograph · EMA European Union herbal monographs and list entries
Preparation-specific evidence should not be generalized across extracts, teas, oils, or whole herb.
Safety
Cats & dogs
- High risk
Thyme oil is listed among essential oils associated with products that can be toxic in dogs and/or cats; the page does not provide oil-specific species, route, dose, or sign attribution.
Intrinsic toxicity · OTHER · Essential oil, including as a component of herbal flea or tick treatments · MODERATE · veterinary_manual · essential, herbal, oil poisoning canine feline - Consultant
Additional safety notes (general, unstructured)
Free-text safety notes carried from their source — not broken out by species, route, or hazard type, and not equivalent to the structured records above. Each note names the kind of source it came from.
SAFETY: Major issues include Essential oil can irritate and is toxic if swallowed in excess. Contraindications/cautions include Thyme allergy; caution in young children with concentrated oils.
HIGH · observational/case series and expert review · LiverTox: Herbal and Dietary Supplements
SAFETY: Clinically relevant interaction concerns include No well-established clinical interactions; possible anticoagulant additivity.
MODERATE · observational/case series and expert review · LiverTox: Herbal and Dietary Supplements
Some interactions are theoretical or based on case reports/pharmacokinetics rather than outcome trials.
SAFETY: Pregnancy/lactation reference: Insufficient medicinal-use pregnancy/lactation data.
MODERATE · regulatory monograph or evidence synthesis · EMA European Union herbal monographs and list entries
Absence of evidence is not evidence of safety.
Thyme oil is listed among essential oils associated with products that can be toxic in dogs and/or cats; the page does not provide oil-specific species, route, dose, or sign attribution.
MODERATE · veterinary_manual · essential, herbal, oil poisoning canine feline - Consultant
The page names thyme oil but does not attribute the listed signs specifically to it or distinguish cats from dogs.
Preparation × species risk matrix
Unknown means insufficient evidence was located — not that a form is safe.
Cats
- essential oilHigh risk
- tinctureCaution
- concentrated extractUnknown
- glyceriteUnknown
- infused oilUnknown
- salveUnknown
- smoke/combustionUnknown
- tea/infusionUnknown
- whole herbUnknown
Dogs
- essential oilHigh risk
- tinctureCaution
- concentrated extractUnknown
- glyceriteUnknown
- infused oilUnknown
- salveUnknown
- smoke/combustionUnknown
- tea/infusionUnknown
- whole herbUnknown
Identity
Botanical synonym
Thymus aestivus Reut. ex Willk.
Taxonomic identity note
- Thyme is treated here as Thymus vulgaris L. in the family Lamiaceae; recorded older names include Thymus aestivus Reut. ex Willk..
Sources
Research records are source-linked but may not yet be editorially reviewed.
EMA monograph
NIH LiverTox monograph
veterinary_manual
- Plants of the World Online1 claim
botanical taxonomy database
WHO monograph