It is better known for its culinary use in seasoning meat, and cooking stews and soups. But extracts of thyme have been shown to be more effective than medicated creams in treating acne and other bacteria-induced skin infections. CHUKWUMA MUANYA writes.NGOZI Onuorah is 19 years old. Ngozi, a Microbiology student at one of the foremost federal universities in Nigeria, until this year, had a running battle with acne.Acne is caused by a bacterium called Propionibacterium acnes, which infects skin pores, forming pimples.Common treatments for the condition include antibiotics and topical creams, or washes, which contain the chemical benzoyl peroxide, but these can sometimes cause side effects.The acne made Ngozi's pretty face bumpy with scars. She had tried several medicated creams until a friend introduced her to thyme extracts two months ago. After just two weeks of taking the extracts as tea and applying the cream on the face, Ngozi's face is now glowingly smooth.Thyme's success in treating skin diseases has been validated by scientists. Researchers reported last week that thyme could be a more effective treatment for acne than medicated creams.Botanically called Thymus vulgaris, thyme is a medicinal plant, which grows in the humid tropical secondary forests of Africa. Thyme is a spice of choice in most kitchens in Nigeria. But it is also among several natural products used by traditional healers in Western Nigeria to treat a number of bacterial infections.According to a recent study published in Journal of Medicinal Plants Research, decoctions of the leaves were believed to have chemical components, which are active against pathogenic microorganism.Until now, a solution of thyme's most active ingredient, thymol, is used in such over-the-counter products as Listerine mouthwash and Vicks VapoRub because of its well-known antibacterial and antifungal properties.Thymol has been shown to have therapeutic effect on the lungs as ingesting or inhaling the oil helps to loosen phlegm and relax the muscles in the respiratory tract.In Germany, concoctions of thyme are frequently prescribed for coughs, including those resulting from whooping cough, bronchitis and emphysema. Thyme extract was included in a popular cough syrup, Pertussin that is no longer on the market.Because of its proven antimicrobial activities, thyme is used in herbal teas prepared for colds and flus. In addition, thyme has been shown to have antifungal properties and could be used against athlete's foot.Nigerian researchers in a recent study published in Journal of Medicinal Plants Research, concluded, 'results obtained in this study indicated that Cajanus cajan (pigeon pea), Riccinus communis (castor bean) and Thymus vulgaris (thyme) all contain bioactive medicinal principles which account for their inhibitory actions against the bacteria tested.'Thymus vulgaris appear to be the most active as it inhibited seven out of the eight bacteria. Oral administration of the leaf extracts of the herbs at the concentration tested is safe as they did not cause significant alteration in cellular activities of the experimental animals.'The study titled: 'Studies on medicinal and toxicological properties of Cajanus cajan, Ricinus communis and Thymus vulgaris leaf extracts' was researchers from Department of Biochemistry, Osun State University, Osogbo, Osun State; and Departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry, Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State.Methanolic extracts of the leaves of Cajanus cajan, Ricinus communis, and Thymus vulgaris were investigated for their medicinal, antimicrobial and toxicological properties.Phytochemical screening of the leaves revealed the presence of tannins, phlobatannins, flavonoids, steroids, terpenoids, saponins and cardiac glycosides, which are the most important bioactive constituents of medicinal plants.Antimicrobial testing against eight pathogenic bacteria showed that all the extracts possess antimicrobial properties with Thymus vulgaris being the most effective as it inhibited seven out of the eight bacteria tested.The extracts were tested against eight major bacterial namely: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Bacillus subtilis, Citrobacter, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas and Micrococcus sp using the broth dilution assay procedure.The researchers wrote: 'Rats were given daily oral administration of methanolic extracts of the leaves at two different concentrations (100 mg and 200 mg/kg body weight) for a period of 14 days. Analysis of kidney and liver function parameters in the serum and tissues of the rats show no significant difference between treated and untreated rats.'Measurement of organ: Body weight ratio did not show any indication of kidney or liver enlargement. These results showed that the extracts are not toxic and also possess medicinal components, which are inhibitory to bacteria.'The incidence of bacterial infection in man is on the increase worldwide. Many antibiotic drugs currently in use are either too expensive or posses undesirable side effects while some are no more effective due to bacterial resistance. All these have led to increase in advocacy for the use of natural products in the prevention and cure of bacterial infections.'A major contribution of medicinal plants to both traditional and modern healthcare systems is their limitless possession of a large number of bioactive components that produce definite physiological action in the body.'Meanwhile, scientists from Leeds Metropolitan University tested the effectiveness of thyme, marigold and myrrh tinctures at killing the acne-causing bacterium and compared it with that of benzoyl peroxide, used in acne creams. The tinctures were prepared by steeping the herbs in alcohol.The scientists used a standard in vitro model, commonly used to test the effect of different substances applied to the skin. This included an alcohol control to ensure that any antibacterial action was not due to the sterilising effect of the alcohol in the tincture.While all the herbal tinctures were able to kill the bacterium after five minutes of exposure, the thyme one was the most effective, the researchers said.They also found that the thyme tincture had a greater antibacterial effect than standard concentrations of benzoyl peroxide, the active ingredient in most anti-acne creams and washes.The preliminary findings could pave the way for herbal treatments for acne - welcome news for people with the condition who experience side effects from current treatments.Lead researcher and senior lecturer in microbiology and genetics, Dr. Margarita Gomez Escalada, said, 'we now need to carry out further tests in conditions that mimic more closely the skin environment and work out at the molecular level how these tinctures are working.'If thyme tincture is proven to be as clinically effective as our findings suggest, it may be a natural alternative to current treatments.'The problem with treatments containing benzoyl peroxide is the side-effects they are associated with. A burning sensation and skin irritation are not uncommon.Herbal preparations are less harsh on the skin due to their anti-inflammatory properties while our results suggest they can be just as, if not more, effective than chemical treatments.'The research was presented at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Dublin last week.These initial findings pave the way for more research into the use of tinctures as a treatment for acne. 'We now need to carry out further tests in conditions that mimic more closely the skin environment and work out at the molecular level how these tinctures are working. If thyme tincture is proven to be as clinically effective as our findings suggest, it may be a natural alternative to current treatments,' explained Gomez-Escalada.Also, according to research presented at the Society for General Microbiology's spring meeting in Edinburgh, essential oils could be a cheap and effective alternative to antibiotics and potentially used to combat drug-resistant hospital superbugs.Prof. Yiannis Samaras and Dr. Effimia Eriotou, from the Technological Educational Institute of Ionian Islands, in Greece, who led the research, tested the antimicrobial activity of eight plant essential oils. They found that thyme essential oil was the most effective and was able to almost completely eliminate bacteria within 60 minutes.The essential oils of thyme and cinnamon were found to be particularly efficient antibacterial agents against a range of Staphylococcus species. Strains of these bacteria are common inhabitants of the skin and some may cause infection in immune-compromised individuals. Drug-resistant strains, such as meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are extremely difficult to treat.'Not only are essential oils a cheap and effective treatment option for antibiotic-resistant strains, but decreased use of antibiotics will help minimise the risk of new strains of antibiotic resistant micro-organisms emerging,' said Samaras.Essential oils have been recognised for hundreds of years for their therapeutic properties, although very little is still known about how they exert their antimicrobial effects in humans.Australian aborigines used tea tree oil to treat colds, sore throats, skin infections and insect bites and the remedy was sold commercially as a medicinal antiseptic from the early 20th century.Various scientific studies have demonstrated that essential oils are not only well tolerated, but are effective against a range of bacterial and fungal species. Their therapeutic value has been shown for the treatment of a variety of conditions, including acne, dandruff, head lice and oral infections.The Greek team believes essential oils could have diverse medical and industrial applications. 'The oils or their active ingredients could be easily incorporated into antimicrobial creams or gels for external application. In the food industry the impregnation of food packaging with essential oils has already been successfully trialed. They could also be included in foodstuffs to replace synthetic chemicals that act as preservatives,' they said.
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