Thymus spp. plants - Food applications and phytopharmacy properties

Publication date: Available online 5 February 2019Source: Trends in Food Science & TechnologyAuthor(s): Bahare Salehi, Mohammad Sanad Abu-Darwish, Amer Hussein Tarawneh, Celia Cabral, Anastassiya V. Gadetskaya, Ligia Salgueiro, Tahereh Hosseinabadi, Sadegh Rajabi, Warren Chanda, Mehdi Sharifi-Rad, Rofhiwa Bridget Mulaudzi, Seyed Abdulmajid Ayatollahi, Farzad Kobarfard, Dılhun Keriman Arserim-Uçar, Javad Sharifi-Rad, Athar Ata, Navid Baghalpour, María del Mar ContrerasABSTRACTBackgroundThymus genus has been used since ancient times for their valuable health properties, which could be attributed to their chemical components, especially essential oils (EOs). Among these species, T. vulgaris has a long history of use for different food and medicinal purposes.Scope and approachThis paper reviews the chemical composition of Thymus plants EOs, including thyme, describes their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties as well as recent food applications as preservatives. The role of these plants in cancer is also covered, as well as the potential these plants have to manage and treat other diseases. Furthermore, clinical studies are also detailed.Key findings and conclusions. Food preservation with naturally occurring compounds is gaining increasing importance due to the consumer demand for safe and high-quality products and to reduce the use of synthetic preservatives. For this purpose, not only thyme but also other thymus plants can be used as such and combined with high-pressure...
Source: Trends in Food Science and Technology - Category: Food Science Source Type: research