Thyme Oil: Benefits, Uses, Recipes, Dilution & Safety

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Thyme oil, also sold as thyme essential oil, is the oil steam-distilled from the flowering tops of common thyme, Thymus vulgaris, and it's rich in thymol and carvacrol, the compounds that make it antiseptic.561 I recommend it as a warming oil for chest colds and coughs, for the mouth and gums and for the skin, always used by the drop and diluted.12

Thyme oil doesn't get nearly as much attention as lavender, eucalyptus or tea tree oil, and it should be used far more often.17 If you've ever had a cold settle into your chest, with a wet cough that hangs on for days, you already know the problem it handles best. In traditional Chinese medicine, a cold earns its name because the body has become too cold inside, so the answer starts with warmth: warm broth, warm herbal teas and warming herbs.8 Thyme is one of the hot, pungent herbs for that job, and my field guide files it under the lungs, for cold, wet coughs and chills.2

Thyme's other uses follow the same pattern, because a lingering wet cough, gums that bleed when you brush, a stubborn breakout or a patch of foot fungus usually means microbes have gained ground on one of your body's front-line surfaces, the moist linings of your airways and mouth, or your skin. Thyme oil works right on those surfaces, warming the tissue, helping you bring up mucus and keeping microbes in check, while rest, warm food and the other parts of your plan give your body what it needs to heal.2910

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What is thyme essential oil?

If you've cooked with thyme, you already know the scent, warm and sharp with a medicinal edge, and the essential oil is that aroma concentrated into a few drops. Thymol is what gives thyme its antiseptic and antimicrobial properties, and the oil also carries carvacrol, one of the chief compounds behind the benefits of oregano oil.1

In a lab analysis of one steam-distilled thyme oil grown in Romania, researchers identified 15 compounds. Thymol led at 47.59% of the oil, followed by γ-terpinene at 30.90%, p-cymene at 8.41%, δ-2-carene at 3.76% and caryophyllene at 2.68%.6

That's one oil, though, and thyme oils vary a great deal, from about 10% to 64% thymol.12 The reason is that common thyme grows in several chemotypes, chemical types of the same plant that look alike but make different oils. In a study of four chemotypes grown in southern France, the oils were led by thymol, by geraniol, by linalool or by 4-thujanol with terpinen-4-ol, and all four were highly active against bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus in lab tests.13 The thymol type is the classic choice for coughs, gums and skin, while a linalool type is made up mostly of linalool, with less of the hot phenols.13

A short history of thyme

Thyme has been a cough and stomach herb for a very long time. Researchers who gathered the traditional uses of thyme species across the Balkans found 553 records, and complaints of the airways and digestion led the list.14 By 1911, the British Pharmaceutical Codex described oil of thyme and noted that the red oil, distilled a second time, yields a "white" oil.15 Coughs and chest colds are still where thyme oil does its best work.

Thyme oil benefits

Thyme oil does the most for your airways, and its other benefits follow, from period comfort and healthier gums to clearer skin, hair regrowth and fewer mosquito bites. If you only try it one way, start with a steam the next time a cold settles in your chest.

How thyme oil works in your body

Chinese medicine describes thyme as a hot, pungent oil for the lungs,2 and its antiseptic strength comes from thymol and carvacrol,1 so when a cold settles in your chest, that warmth and antiseptic strength work together in a few steps:

That antiseptic strength reaches a wide range of germs. In a 2011 lab study, thyme oil was strongly active against all 120 bacterial strains the researchers tested, taken from patients with infections of the mouth, airways and urinary tract and from the hospital environment, including strains that resist antibiotics.10 The next year, the same team found strong activity against 120 multidrug-resistant strains.22 Thyme battles bacteria and parasites, too, which is why it's one of the eight essential oils I teach for a parasite cleanse, taken as a single drop in water for a short course.23 So when you use thyme oil, you're putting that antiseptic strength right on the surface that needs it, whether that's your airways, your mouth or your skin.

Thyme oil's antioxidant side showed up in an aging study, too, where rats fed thyme oil into old age kept higher levels of their brain's own antioxidant enzymes, and more DHA, an omega-3 fat, than rats on a regular diet.24

Thyme oil for coughs and chest colds

When a cold moves into your chest, the mucus thickens and the cough turns wet, and that's the cough thyme is best known for. Thyme oil is a great expectorant, a remedy that helps you bring mucus up and out, and one of the best essential oils for cough when you've got phlegm and mucus in your throat.9 Europe's medicines agency lists thyme as a traditional herbal medicine for productive, chesty coughs that come with colds, and it lists thyme oil itself, rubbed on the chest and back or added to a bath, for the symptoms of coughs and colds, both listings based on long use.2526

Breathing thyme oil itself has helped people in the hospital, too. At a hospital in Batman, Turkey, in 2022, researchers randomly assigned 140 patients admitted with COVID-19 to routine care alone or routine care plus breathing thyme oil three times a day for 5 days. People knew which treatment they got, and there was no placebo, but by the end of day 5, the thyme group had less shortness of breath, mucus and cough, along with less headache, weakness and muscle and joint pain. Their temperature, pulse and breathing rate came down, and their oxygen levels rose.16

The herb itself has been tested too, in a placebo-controlled trial of 361 adults with acute bronchitis and a productive cough, a syrup made from thyme herb and ivy leaf extracts, not the essential oil, brought fewer coughing fits than a matching placebo syrup by days 7 to 9 of the 11-day trial. People tolerated it just as well as the placebo.27

At home, mix eucalyptus and thyme oils with some lemon oil and take deep breaths over hot vapor, or mix the three with coconut oil for a simple homemade vapor rub, rub it on your chest and then get in a hot shower.1 Thyme and ginger together are probably the most effective one-two punch I know against the common cold and flu,8 and a little ginger oil and thyme in coconut oil makes a good chest rub for those airways, too.9 Then do what Chinese medicine prescribes for a cold: drink plenty of warm bone broth soups and warm herbal teas, and cook with warming herbs, thyme among them.82 Thyme itself makes one of those teas. I like to simmer the herb in water for about 30 to 40 minutes and drink it, because thyme tea is specifically good for viruses in the throat and lungs.7

As cold season sets in, stock thyme oil in your natural medicine cabinet,1 alongside your other essential oils for colds, so it's ready the first night a cough turns wet. For a steam, add 1 drop of thyme and 2 drops of eucalyptus oil to a bowl of steaming water, drape a towel over your head, close your eyes and breathe slowly for a few minutes.2

Can thyme oil help period cramps and hormone balance?

Period cramps come from the muscle of the womb tightening hard, and thyme has been tested against exactly that kind of pain. In a trial in Iran, 84 single university students ages 18 to 24, with painful periods and no other cause behind them, were split at random into three groups, and neither the people nor the researchers knew who got what.4 For the first 48 hours of each period, over 2 menstrual cycles, one group took 25 drops of a prepared 2% thyme-oil liquid every 6 hours, the second took 200 mg of ibuprofen every 6 hours and the third took a placebo.

On a pain scale from 0 to 10, the thyme group went from 6.57 before treatment to 1.21 in the first cycle and 1.14 in the second. The ibuprofen group went from 5.30 to 1.48 and then 1.68, and the placebo group from 6.18 to 3.45 and then 3.29. Thyme and ibuprofen weren't significantly different from each other, both did better than placebo, and bleeding didn't change in any group, though nausea scores rose slightly in the thyme group while they fell with ibuprofen.4 The thyme liquid was a measured preparation taken by mouth, made by a pharmaceutical company that had one author on the study.4

In the lab, a water extract of thyme leaves relaxed mouse uterine muscle, calming both the contractions it makes on its own and the ones driven by oxytocin, the hormone that tightens the womb,11 which fits what the women in the trial felt.

Thyme is also one of the three essential oils I teach for hormone health, along with clary sage and, specifically for men, sandalwood.28 In a lab study of more than 150 herbs, foods and spices, thyme was among the six that bound most strongly to both estrogen and progesterone receptors in human breast-cancer cells, a sign that dried thyme, tested in lab cells rather than as the oil in a person, can interact directly with hormone receptors.29 For a hormone-balancing body oil, stir 2 drops of thyme and 3 of clary sage into a tablespoon of coconut oil, which keeps thyme within its 1% limit, and rub it on two to three times daily.12

Is thyme oil good for your teeth and gums?

Your gums are one of those front-line surfaces, and when plaque bacteria gain ground there, the gums swell and bleed, which is gingivitis. Thyme's antiseptic strength is a natural fit for the mouth. As my field guide explains, thymol is so effective against oral bacteria that it's a key ingredient in leading mouthwashes,2 and in lab tests, thyme oil was strongly active against bacteria taken from people with mouth infections, among others.10

Essential-oil mouthrinses have been put to the test in people, too. One pooled analysis gathered 29 randomized, placebo-controlled trials lasting 6 months or more, all sponsored by industry, and in them, people who added an essential-oil mouthrinse to brushing and flossing had more healthy gum sites and less plaque and gingivitis than people who only brushed and flossed.30

For a homemade toothpaste, I pair thyme with myrrh and some peppermint, stirred into coconut oil and baking soda with a little clay,1 and the recipe is below. For a quick homemade mouthwash, stir 1 drop of thyme oil into half a cup of warm water, swish it around your mouth and spit it out; oils don't dissolve in water, so that one drop is plenty.2

Is thyme oil good for hair growth?

Alopecia areata is the kind of hair loss that leaves smooth, round patches, and in a randomized trial, a daily scalp massage with thyme and three other oils helped hair grow back in those patches. At a dermatology clinic in Aberdeen, Scotland, 86 people with the condition were split at random into two groups. One group massaged thyme, rosemary, lavender and cedarwood oils, in a mix of jojoba and grapeseed carrier oils, into their scalps every day, while the other group massaged in the carrier oils alone, also every day.3

The researchers checked progress at 3 and 7 months, and two dermatologists judged photographs of each scalp without knowing which oil each person had used. In all, 19 of 43 people in the essential-oil group improved (44%), compared with 6 of 41 (15%) in the carrier-oil group, a difference too large to put down to chance, and the photographs showed a greater degree of regrowth too.3 Thyme was one of four oils in that blend, so it shares the credit with rosemary, lavender and cedarwood. The scalp oil in the recipes below uses the same four oils and the same two carriers, so massage a little into your scalp every day, the way the people in the trial did, and give it months rather than weeks.

Is thyme oil good for your skin?

A breakout is bacteria and inflammation meeting in a blocked pore, and thyme works on both. In lab tests, thyme oil was the most potent of five essential oils against Cutibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis, two bacteria behind acne, and it made their cells leak, a sign the oil had broken through their outer membranes. In a mouse acne model, a thyme-oil nanoemulsion, the oil broken into very fine droplets, calmed the inflammation and lowered the bacterial load.17 The acne mask in the recipes below puts that to work with lavender and tea tree in Manuka honey,1 one of the simplest home remedies for acne you can make.

Eczema is a different kind of skin problem, dry, itchy and inflamed, and thyme has calmed it in mice. Researchers applied lavender oil, thyme oil or a 2-to-1 lavender and thyme blend to mice with induced eczema for 21 days. With all three, markers of oxidative stress and allergy fell and the skin grew less thickened, though the study had no untreated comparison group.31 My best eczema recipe is mixing thyme, geranium and chamomile oils together with a little bit of shea butter and rubbing that into areas of eczema.1

Thyme oil is also antifungal and anti-yeast.7 In lab tests, a thyme oil that was 44.71% thymol stopped a drug-resistant strain of Trichophyton rubrum, a common cause of nail fungus and athlete's foot, and thymol worked together with the antifungal drug fluconazole against it.20 For a foot soak, mix 3 drops of thyme oil into a spoon of carrier oil or half a cup of Epsom salt, stir it into a basin of warm water and soak your feet.2

Does thyme oil keep mosquitoes away?

Thyme is a great natural bug spray, and thyme and lemongrass together, mixed with a little water and vinegar, is the combination I recommend for mosquitoes, yellow flies or any other insects causing trouble.1 The research points the same way, starting with mice, where thyme oil at just 0.05% gave 91% protection against mosquitoes,18 and in a forearm test with human volunteers, thymol repelled mosquitoes about as well as DEET, the standard chemical repellent, while two other thyme compounds, α-terpinene and carvacrol, did even better.19

The spray in the recipes below uses the whole oil with lemongrass, at a strength gentle enough for your skin. Shake it and mist it over your arms, legs and clothes before you head out for the evening, and if a mosquito gets through anyway, try these home remedies for mosquito bites.

How to use thyme oil

Thyme is a hot oil, so its limit on the skin is lower than most: my field guide puts it at 1% at most, about 1 drop per teaspoon of carrier oil, such as coconut, jojoba, sweet almond or olive oil.2 The carrier spreads a few strong drops thin enough to be gentle on your skin, and the table below gives the amounts for each use:

Diffuse it 30 to 60 minutes at a time, with breaks, in a ventilated room.2 The breaks help because your nose adapts quickly, the way you stop noticing a candle once you've been in the room a while.

How to buy thyme oil

Start with the label, because thyme oils differ more than most, and you want the right one for the job:

• The Latin name: Thymus vulgaris, common thyme.6

• The chemotype: the thymol type for coughs, gums and skin cleansing, or a linalool type, which is mostly linalool, with less of the hot phenols.13

• Pure oil only: 100% steam-distilled thyme oil in a dark glass bottle, with nothing added.2

• Certified organic: buy thyme oil from a certified organic company.1

Keep the bottle cool, dark and tightly closed, and if an old bottle smells off, replace it, since oxidized oils irritate skin.2

Thyme oil recipes

The first five recipes below use my own pairings for thyme: eucalyptus and lemon for the chest, lavender and tea tree in Manuka honey for acne, geranium and chamomile for eczema, myrrh and peppermint for the teeth, and lemongrass for bugs.1 Each one keeps thyme at or under its 1% limit on the skin.2

Blends well with: eucalyptus and lemon; ginger; clary sage; lavender and tea tree; geranium and chamomile; myrrh and peppermint; lemongrass; rosemary and cedarwood; and witch hazel.1828323

Thyme oil side effects and who should skip it

Thyme is a hot oil, so it's always used by the drop and diluted.2 Used that way in a steam, a diffuser or a carrier oil, it hasn't been linked to serious harm in people, and the FDA lists thyme oil as generally recognized as safe in the small amounts used to flavor food.35

Its main risk is to your skin, because the same phenols that make thyme antiseptic can irritate the skin and eyes and can sensitize the skin and airways, according to Europe's food safety authority, and in one documented case, thymol caused an allergic skin rash.536 So keep to the amounts in the dilution table, and keep the oil away from your eyes and the inside of your nose. Patch test first, too, one of the basic rules of essential oil safety: apply your diluted blend to the inner forearm and wait 24 hours, and if you see redness or itching, skip thyme.2

Don't use thyme oil while you're pregnant. My field guide lists it among the oils to avoid in pregnancy, and I recommend avoiding it then because of how it can change your hormones.223 The same list includes clary sage, rosemary, myrrh and cedarwood, which also appear in this page's recipes.2 Lavender and lemon, diffused, are the gentle choices instead.2 While you're nursing, skip thyme oil by mouth, since its safety there hasn't been studied, and keep skin use to the 1% amounts above, away from your breasts and your baby's face.2

With children, go gentle. Never give thyme oil to a child by mouth, and don't use it on the skin of children under 6, since children ages 2 to 6 should stick to gentle oils and thyme is a hot one.2 Keep eucalyptus and peppermint, which appear in two of the recipes, away from a young child's face, too.2 From age 6, use smaller amounts in a carrier oil, about 1 drop per 2 teaspoons, and diffuse thyme lightly and briefly.372 Keep the bottle locked away,2 and keep the hot-water steam bowl for adults, since a spilled bowl can scald a child.

By mouth, thyme oil belongs only in a short course for adults: one drop in water, for no more than 10 days to two weeks, and never if you're pregnant or have high blood pressure, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease or major liver or gut problems.23 If you have high blood pressure, use thyme carefully in any form.2 And since dried thyme bound estrogen receptors in lab cells, and herbs that did so generally acted like estrogen,29 if you have an estrogen-sensitive condition, keep to an occasional steam or diffuser rather than daily body oils.

Keep thyme oil off your pets and out of their reach. It's one of the oils I don't recommend for them, and cats can't process many oils.372 In reports to a U.S. animal poison control center, most of 48 cats and dogs exposed to essential-oil flea products had side effects, even though most of those products had been used as the label directed.38 Diffuse it only in a room your pet can leave, and see essential oils for pets for gentler choices.

The bottom line

Thyme oil: frequently asked questions

References

1. Axe J. 5 Benefits of Thyme Essential Oil. Dr. Josh Axe on YouTube. July 26, 2016 (one of his top five desert-island oils at 0:39; thymol and carvacrol at 0:48-1:11; natural antimicrobial at 1:12; eucalyptus, thyme and lemon steam and coconut-oil chest rub before a hot shower at 1:54-2:16; opening the airways at 2:18; thyme with clary sage in coconut oil for hormone balance at 3:21; acne mask with lavender, tea tree and Manuka honey at 3:38; eczema balm with geranium and chamomile in shea butter at 3:55; toothpaste with myrrh and peppermint at 4:28; bug spray with lemongrass, water and vinegar at 4:50; buy certified organic at 5:26; stock it in a home medicine cabinet at 5:36).
2. Axe J. Top 50 Healing Herbs & Essential Oils: A Field Guide to God's Pharmacy. DrAxe.com protocol; 2026 (Thyme, p. 46: best for cough, airways, gum health and acne; steam 1 drop; topical 1% maximum; diffuse 1-2 drops; chest rub with carrier; Chinese medicine profile hot, pungent, lungs, for cold, wet coughs and chills; a hot oil, always dilute; avoid in pregnancy and use carefully with high blood pressure. Quick Reference: eucalyptus steam, 2 to 3 drops in hot water, p. 41. "Read This First: Essential oil safety & dilution": carrier oils, dilution chart, patch test, phototoxic citrus oils, pregnancy, babies and kids, pets, diffusing 3 to 5 drops per 100 mL with breaks, baths and soaks with oils mixed into salt or carrier first because oils do not dissolve in water. "Build your home apothecary": buying pure oils in dark glass, storage and oxidized oils).
3. Hay IC, Jamieson M, Ormerod AD. Randomized trial of aromatherapy. Successful treatment for alopecia areata. Arch Dermatol. 1998;134(11):1349-52. doi:10.1001/archderm.134.11.1349
4. Salmalian H, Saghebi R, Moghadamnia AA, Bijani A, Faramarzi M, Nasiri Amiri F, et al. Comparative effect of thymus vulgaris and ibuprofen on primary dysmenorrhea: A triple-blind clinical study. Caspian J Intern Med. 2014;5(2):82-8.
5. Villa RE, Azimonti G, Bonos E, Christensen H, Durjava M, Dusemund B, et al. Safety and efficacy of a feed additive consisting of an essential oil obtained from the flowering aerial parts of Thymus vulgaris L. and/or Thymus zygis L. (thyme oil) for use in all animal species (FEFANA asbl). EFSA J. 2025;23(12):e9691. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2025.9691
6. Borugă O, Jianu C, Mişcă C, Goleţ I, Gruia AT, Horhat FG. Thymus vulgaris essential oil: chemical composition and antimicrobial activity. J Med Life. 2014;7 Spec No. 3:56-60.
7. Axe J. How to Prevent & Heal Cold & Flu Naturally (Foods, Supplements, & Herbs for Rapid Recovery). The Dr. Josh Axe Show. 2024 (thyme oil should be used more often, antifungal and anti-yeast, at 23:19; thyme as an herbal tea, simmered 30 to 40 minutes, for viruses in the throat and lungs).
8. Axe J. 8 Surprising Essential Oil Remedies. The Dr. Axe Show. 2017 (a cold in Chinese medicine is "too cold inside your body" at 14:33; warm broth soups, herbal teas and warming herbs at 14:44; thyme and ginger together against the common cold and flu at 15:12; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWEEKIaHbeQ&t=873s).
9. Axe J. Fall Essential Oils for Colds, Sore Throats and More. Dr. Josh Axe on YouTube. October 18, 2017 (thyme oil as an expectorant for phlegm and mucus at 0:32; ginger with coconut oil and thyme as a chest rub within 0:54-1:43).
10. Sienkiewicz M, Łysakowska M, Ciećwierz J, Denys P, Kowalczyk E. Antibacterial activity of thyme and lavender essential oils. Med Chem. 2011;7(6):674-89. doi:10.2174/157340611797928488
11. Bafor EE, Kalu CH, Omoruyi O, Elvis-Offiah UB, Edrada-Ebel R. Thyme (Thymus vulgaris [Lamiaceae]) Leaves Inhibit Contraction of the Nonpregnant Mouse Uterus. J Med Food. 2021;24(5):541-550. doi:10.1089/jmf.2020.0076
12. Salehi B, Mishra AP, Shukla I, Sharifi-Rad M, Contreras MDM, Segura-Carretero A, et al. Thymol, thyme, and other plant sources: Health and potential uses. Phytother Res. 2018;32(9):1688-1706. doi:10.1002/ptr.6109
13. Schmidt E, Wanner J, Hiiferl M, Jirovetz L, Buchbauer G, Gochev V, et al. Chemical composition, olfactory analysis and antibacterial activity of Thymus vulgaris chemotypes geraniol, 4-thujanol/terpinen-4-ol, thymol and linalool cultivated in southern France. Nat Prod Commun. 2012;7(8):1095-8.
14. Aneva I, Marković M, Malovec KH, Naychov Z, Mincheva I, Stankov-Jovanović V, et al. Traditional Uses of Thymus Species in the Balkans: Ethnopharmacology, Food, and Cultural Heritage. Life (Basel). 2026;16(3):452. doi:10.3390/life16030452
15. Oleum Thymi. Oil of Thyme. In: The British Pharmaceutical Codex. Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain; 1911 (red oil rectified yields "white" oil; white oil often adulterated with turpentine).
16. Öner U, Cengiz Z. The effects of aromatherapy with thyme oil on disease symptoms, vital findings, and hemodynamic parameters in COVID-19 patients. Explore (NY). 2024;20(4):544-553. doi:10.1016/j.explore.2023.12.004
17. Abdelhamed FM, Abdeltawab NF, ElRakaiby MT, Shamma RN, Moneib NA. Antibacterial and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Thymus vulgaris Essential Oil Nanoemulsion on Acne Vulgaris. Microorganisms. 2022;10(9):1874. doi:10.3390/microorganisms10091874
18. Choi WS, Park BS, Ku SK, Lee SE. Repellent activities of essential oils and monoterpenes against Culex pipiens pallens. J Am Mosq Control Assoc. 2002;18(4):348-51.
19. Park BS, Choi WS, Kim JH, Kim KH, Lee SE. Monoterpenes from thyme (Thymus vulgaris) as potential mosquito repellents. J Am Mosq Control Assoc. 2005;21(1):80-3. doi:10.2987/8756-971X(2005)21[80:MFTTVA]2.0.CO;2
20. Khan MS, Ahmad I, Cameotra SS. Carum copticum and Thymus vulgaris oils inhibit virulence in Trichophyton rubrum and Aspergillus spp. Braz J Microbiol. 2014;45(2):523-31. doi:10.1590/s1517-83822014000200021
21. Begrow F, Engelbertz J, Feistel B, Lehnfeld R, Bauer K, Verspohl EJ. Impact of thymol in thyme extracts on their antispasmodic action and ciliary clearance. Planta Med. 2010;76(4):311-8. doi:10.1055/s-0029-1186179
22. Sienkiewicz M, Łysakowska M, Denys P, Kowalczyk E. The antimicrobial activity of thyme essential oil against multidrug resistant clinical bacterial strains. Microb Drug Resist. 2012;18(2):137-48. doi:10.1089/mdr.2011.0080
23. Axe J. Parasite Cleanse: The Best Essential Oils. The Dr. Axe Show. November 27, 2017 (no more than 10 days to two weeks internally, because strong oils taken too long can harm the gastric lining, not in pregnancy, not for infants and small children, at 1:45-2:08; thyme oil and thymol at 6:45; battles bacteria and parasites, one drop internally with water, avoid in pregnancy because of how it can change your hormones, at 7:10-7:20; stay away from thyme oil internally with blood pressure issues or epilepsy at 7:36; skip these oils internally with inflammatory bowel disease, major leaky gut or major liver or gastrointestinal issues at 2:55-3:24; thyme among eight parasite-cleanse oils at 9:12; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDYTUnzP97Q&t=430s).
24. Youdim KA, Deans SG. Effect of thyme oil and thymol dietary supplementation on the antioxidant status and fatty acid composition of the ageing rat brain. Br J Nutr. 2000;83(1):87-93.
25. European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. Thymi herba (thyme): EU herbal monograph (EMA/HMPC/342332/2013, final, published June 2, 2014). EMA; 2014 (traditional use: thyme preparations for productive, chesty coughs associated with colds; the conclusions rest on traditional use, not clinical trials).
26. European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. European Union herbal monograph on Thymus vulgaris L., Thymus zygis L., aetheroleum (thyme oil) (EMA/HMPC/59032/2017, final, Revision 1, adopted July 8, 2020; published September 21, 2020). EMA; 2020 (traditional use, based exclusively on long-standing use: liquids by mouth as an expectorant in cough associated with colds; applied to the chest and back, or as a bath additive, for relief of symptoms in coughs and colds).
27. Kemmerich B, Eberhardt R, Stammer H. Efficacy and tolerability of a fluid extract combination of thyme herb and ivy leaves and matched placebo in adults suffering from acute bronchitis with productive cough. A prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Arzneimittelforschung. 2006;56(9):652-60. doi:10.1055/s-0031-1296767
28. Axe J. Essential Oils for Hormone Health: How to Use Them Safely. Dr. Josh Axe on YouTube. May 12, 2015 (clary sage, thyme and sandalwood as his three hormone oils at 0:27; thyme for progesterone balance at 1:12; oils in coconut oil rubbed on the skin at 2:11; clary sage with thyme at 3:17).
29. Zava DT, Dollbaum CM, Blen M. Estrogen and progestin bioactivity of foods, herbs, and spices. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1998;217(3):369-78. doi:10.3181/00379727-217-44247
30. Araujo MWB, Charles CA, Weinstein RB, McGuire JA, Parikh-Das AM, Du Q, et al. Meta-analysis of the effect of an essential oil-containing mouthrinse on gingivitis and plaque. J Am Dent Assoc. 2015;146(8):610-622. doi:10.1016/j.adaj.2015.02.011
31. Seo YM, Jeong SH. [Effects of Blending Oil of Lavender and Thyme on Oxidative Stress, Immunity, and Skin Condition in Atopic Dermatitis Induced Mice]. J Korean Acad Nurs. 2015;45(3):367-77. doi:10.4040/jkan.2015.45.3.367
32. Axe J. Ancient Remedies: Secrets to Healing with Herbs, Essential Oils, CBD, and the Most Powerful Natural Medicine in History. Little, Brown Spark (Hachette Book Group); 2021 (food-plant oils taken by mouth at 1 or 2 drops, p. 146; Varicose veins, cypress or thyme oil with witch hazel twice daily, p. 285).
33. Penn State Extension. How to Safely Make Infused Oils. Pennsylvania State University.
34. Okazaki K, Kawazoe K, Takaishi Y. Human platelet aggregation inhibitors from thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.). Phytother Res. 2002;16(4):398-9. doi:10.1002/ptr.979
35. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 21 CFR 182.20: Essential oils, oleoresins (solvent-free), and natural extractives (including distillates), generally recognized as safe. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations.
36. Lorenzi S, Placucci F, Vincenzi C, Bardazzi F, Tosti A. Allergic contact dermatitis due to thymol. Contact Dermatitis. 1995;33(6):439-40. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0536.1995.tb02092.x
37. Axe J. Dangers of Essential Oils: Top 10 Essential Oil Mistakes to Avoid | Dr. Josh Axe. The Dr. Josh Axe Show. 2017 (oils not recommended for pets, thyme named, at 6:38; smaller amounts and a carrier oil for children at 7:13).
38. Genovese AG, McLean MK, Khan SA. Adverse reactions from essential oil-containing natural flea products exempted from Environmental Protection Agency regulations in dogs and cats. J Vet Emerg Crit Care (San Antonio). 2012;22(4):470-5. doi:10.1111/j.1476-4431.2012.00780.x

Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CNS

Doctor of Natural Medicine · Founder, DrAxe.com

Dr. Axe is a certified doctor of natural medicine, clinical nutritionist, and multiple New York Times bestselling author. He has spent 20+ years in clinical practice helping people heal at the root cause and founded one of the most-visited natural-health platforms in the world.

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