Ординатура / Хирургия / Библиотека им академика М.И. Перельмана / Книга_5327_Библиотеки_им_академика_М_И_Перельмана

Thyme oil is used as a botanical preservative to stop the deterioration of food during storage. Because of its antifungal and aatoxigenic properties, Thymus oil is used as a preservative for storing food items. Research reported that thyme oil completely inhibited the growth of fungus Aspergillus avus [47]. Thyme oil completely arrests the production of aatoxin B1. It is also used to control postharvest fungal diseases. Usage of thyme oil increases the shelf life of the cake. It is also reported to reduce the decaying of vegetables.

these can be avoided by different techniques. The primary goal of using thyme in food is to enhance its shelf life however, there is one limiting factor. The usage of thyme plant extract or its essential oil develops negative organoleptic characteris­tics in food leading to undesiring odor and taste. These sensory limitations can be avoided by using low concentrations of thyme and other conservation methods. Moreover, nanocarriers’ encapsulated natural compounds can also be used for this purpose. This encapsulation not only masks taste but also protects against the oxidative degradation by controlled release of compounds. It also increases the bioactivity of compounds present in thyme essential oil and its plant extract. Thyme essential oil and extracts are also used for preserving sh and seafood. For this purpose, the sh or seafood is immersed in essential oils or natural extract followed by drainage of product after half an hour. EO can also be used by apply­ing on the lms or adding it to the surface of sh. Due to short shelf life, fresh thyme is not used as food. Use of whole dried thyme in food processing is also limited. It is because the volatile compounds are not evenly distributed through­out the product and often additional treatments are required for processing of food. One such method of food processing is comminution. In this method leaves of thyme can be crushed, ground, chopped or sliced. When ground the oil struc­ture becomes crushed and the oil is released. However during grinding heat is generated that vaporizes the volatile oil as a result avor of oil reduces. To pre­vent destruction of volatile compounds by heat it is essential to keep the tempera­ture low during the grinding process. Moreover, ground thyme should have optimum moisture to retain the characteristic odor and avor. To prevent contami­nation of thyme by microbes in processed food, it is sterilized through different chemical and physical sterilization techniques.

Maize is widely cultivated crop throughout the planet. Solely in China around 11 billion tons of corn has been utilized in year 2021–22. Due to its high nutrient con­tent maize is loved globally. Its high demand in world has led to the development of techniques to prevent maize losses in elds and in warehouses. Sitophilus zeamais, is one of the most lethal pests for the stored grains. Particularly found in tropical regions and warm zones, this pest is the major destroyer of maize crop. It severely damages maize during storage. Using articial pesticides have harmful impacts on consumers. Therefore, continuous researches are being conducted to nd eco­friendly alternatives for this pest control. Application of thyme oil on this pests has found to signicantly reduce its mortality. Research has shown that both encapsu­lated and non-encapsulated thyme essential oil is effective in controlling Sitophilus zeamais without altering the quality of crop [51].

to amber whereas in crystallized form it ranges from beige to brown color. It has strong aroma and a taste similar to tropical fruits. It is rich in avonoids, phenols and avanols. Often it also contains epicatechin gallate. Thyme honey, if kept outside, crystallizes within short time.

Traditionally honey has been used as a remedy for wound treatment. Several clinical trials have been carried out to obtain super normal wound healing. To achieve this goal research has been conducted upon the efcacy of thyme honey in wound treatment. It has been found that if applied twice a day on wounds, thyme honey accelerates the healing process. Thyme honey also helps in provid­ing relief from cough. Moreover, its viscous sticky nature soothes the throat.

It is also known as Khorasan thyme. As the name indicates it is native to Iran. This species is also found in Turkmenistan. It is an aromatic plant containing thymol and carvacrol as the main constituents. It contains 60% thymol whereas around 90% of monoterpenes are also reported. This species is reported to have high antifungal activity.

It is commonly known as lemon thyme. It is smaller in size than Thymus vulgaris L. T. citriodorus has deep pink owers and dark green leaves. Its leaves have lemon smell. Out of the total 50 known species of this thyme, only 3 are cultivated for cooking purposes. It helps in curing bacterial diseases (Table16.4).

The word thyme is derivative of the Greek word ‘Thymos’ which means to fumi­gate. Studies showed that it was utilized by ancient Egyptians in the embalming process. Since ancient times thyme has been considered a symbol of bravery. Roman soldiers used to bathe in thyme and they believed that it gives them courage. Until medieval times it was given to soldiers upon leaving for battle as it was considered as a sign of valor. The togas of generals were been embroidered with thyme picture.