Red Thyme EO

Latin name :

Thymus vulgaris

Botanical profile :

Red thyme belongs to the Lamiaceae family and the genus Thymus.

Geographic origin :

Originally from Southern Europe, red thyme is now grown in Spain (the main producer), Morocco, Tunisia and France in majority. Other producing countries include Italy, Turkey, the USA and Canada.

Chemotypes :

The genus Thymus includes about 350 different species and a very large number of different chemotypes. Among the main chemotypes are Thymol, Carvacrol, Eucalyptol, Linalool, Geraniol, p-Cymene, α-Thujene and Aplha-Terpineol thymes. These chemotypes may concern different species.

The Thymol chemotype of Red Thyme EO (Thymus vulgaris) is however the most used because it is very economical and it allows the isolation of many compounds of interest.
The Eucalyptol chemotype of White Thyme EO (Thymus mastichina) is also widely used.

Among the other species of the genus Thymus, in addition to the white thyme, there are: Moroccan thyme (Thymus satureioides - Borneol and Carvacrol), wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum) with many chemotypes, conehead thyme (Thymus capitatus - Carvacrol or Thymol), Spanish thyme (Thymus zygis - Thymol or Linalool and many others).
This list is not exhaustive because thyme is an aromatic that has been subject to a lot of crossings throughout its history. Some species of thyme thus have two majority chemotypes.

Extraction process :

Thyme is a herbaceous plant that reaches up to 30 cm tall. Its fragrant principle is contained in its stems, but especially in its leaves, which are only one centimetre long. In Spain, almost all cultures are wild. The propagation of a thyme culture is done by sowing seeds. Cutting methods are also used. Also, a few tens of centimetres must be left between the plants to guarantee a better quality of the essential oil and a better extraction yield. The plants need a lot of sun exposure. The culture starts when the plant blooms (the flowers are white as reflected by the name of this thyme).
In cultivation, the leafy stems of thyme are mowed or hand picked to be dried for a few hours under 104 °F. In Spain, cultivation takes place from February to August. In France, this cut is made twice a year: the first one in May and the other one around September. However, it is also possible to find crops with one cut and others with three.
A steam distillation under pressure for 1.5 hours allows to collect an essential oil at the refrigerant outlet by decantation of the water. The extraction yield is between 1.5 and 2.5%.
Volatile solvent extraction provides an extraction yield of about 0.3%.

Major Components :

For a Thymol chemotype :
Thymol (70-80%)
para-Cymene (5-15%)
Gamma-Terpinene (5-10%)
Carvacrol (1-5%)
Linalool (1-5%)