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What Effect Does Thyme Have on Heart Health?

Thyme is an herb in the mint family (Pixabay)
Thyme is an herb in the mint family (Pixabay)
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What Effect Does Thyme Have on Heart Health?

Thyme is an herb in the mint family (Pixabay)
Thyme is an herb in the mint family (Pixabay)

Thyme is an herb in the mint family and a staple ingredient in cooking. It may also offer a range of health benefits, including fighting acne, regulating mucus secretion, and combating inflammation.

Studies have shown that consuming thyme (Thymus vulgaris) has positive effects on heart health, thanks to its strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which help manage risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Key benefits include lowering blood pressure, improving blood lipid levels (reducing cholesterol), and reducing heart rate in cases of hypertension.

The benefits of thyme are not limited to culinary use; it is also used in teas, syrups, baths, inhalations, tinctures, and essential oils.

Key cardiovascular benefits

Lowering blood pressure:

Thymus linearis Benth. is a species of thyme that grows in Pakistan and Afghanistan. A reliable 2014 study found that its extract significantly reduced heart rate in hypertensive rats and also lowered their cholesterol levels, according to the health website Healthline.

Studies indicate that thyme can significantly reduce both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in people with hypertension. Compounds such as thymol and carvacrol in thyme act as natural inhibitors of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), helping relax constricted arteries and improve circulation.

Antioxidant effects:

Terpenoids in thyme have strong antioxidant properties that help protect healthy cells from damage caused by free radicals. This supports vascular health and helps prevent cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks, atherosclerosis, and strokes.

Terpenoids also protect fat cells from oxidation, helping lower levels of “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and raise levels of “good” cholesterol (HDL) in the blood.

Improving blood lipid levels:

Thyme consumption is associated with lower total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides, while often increasing HDL cholesterol.

Regulating heart rate:

Research on wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum) suggests it may help regulate high blood pressure and reduce vascular resistance.

Other benefits of thyme

Reducing anxiety and stress:

Some studies suggest that thyme essential oils, particularly limonene, carvacrol, and linalool, may help reduce anxiety and stress by enhancing the activity of neurotransmitters such as gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain. This may promote relaxation and a sense of calm while reducing tension and nervousness.

Treating acne:

Thyme, particularly its essential oil, contains thymol, an organic compound with antiseptic, disinfectant, and antimicrobial properties. These properties make it useful in treating acne and other skin conditions such as dermatitis.

Maintaining oral health:

Thyme contains thymol, which supports dental and gum health. It helps prevent the growth and spread of bacteria responsible for tooth decay and gum disease, including Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli.

Fighting fungal infections:

Both thymol and limonene, found in thyme essential oil, have strong antifungal properties that help combat infections caused by fungi such as Candida albicans, which commonly affects the skin and nails.

In addition, thyme may help fight infections caused by Cryptococcus neoformans, a fungus found in soil and bird droppings that can be transmitted to humans through inhalation. It can cause cryptococcosis, a disease affecting the lungs and nervous system, and may lead to pneumonia or meningitis.

Supporting Alzheimer’s disease treatment:

Thymol, a compound found in thyme, may help in Alzheimer’s disease by inhibiting cholinesterase, an enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter essential for memory and learning and found at reduced levels in Alzheimer’s patients.

Thymol also has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which may help reduce inflammation and protect the nervous system from free radical damage, potentially supporting Alzheimer’s treatment. However, further human studies are still needed to confirm these effects.

Helping fight cancer:

Thyme contains high levels of thymol and carvacrol, compounds with antitumor properties that may help inhibit the growth of cancer cells and promote their death. These properties suggest thyme may help combat cancers such as breast, intestinal, cervical, liver, and lung cancers. However, more human studies are needed to confirm thyme’s potential anti-cancer benefits.

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‘Fingerprints’ of Black Hole’s Event Horizon Detected for First Time

An actual image of the black hole where scientists looked for a ring of light, which is matter and radiation circling at extreme speeds around a region of darkness representing the black hole. (Event Horizon Telescope collaboration)
An actual image of the black hole where scientists looked for a ring of light, which is matter and radiation circling at extreme speeds around a region of darkness representing the black hole. (Event Horizon Telescope collaboration)
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‘Fingerprints’ of Black Hole’s Event Horizon Detected for First Time

An actual image of the black hole where scientists looked for a ring of light, which is matter and radiation circling at extreme speeds around a region of darkness representing the black hole. (Event Horizon Telescope collaboration)
An actual image of the black hole where scientists looked for a ring of light, which is matter and radiation circling at extreme speeds around a region of darkness representing the black hole. (Event Horizon Telescope collaboration)

Scientists have detected the "fingerprints" of a black hole's event horizon -- the boundary from which nothing can escape -- for the first time, according to research published on Wednesday.

The discovery was made by studying ripples in space-time called gravitational waves that were created when two black holes violently smashed into each other.

A black hole's event horizon is known as the "point of no return" because not even light can avoid being swallowed into its darkness.

This has made them incredibly difficult to learn anything about.

However, there is one event of such cataclysmic violence that it could offer a chance to glimpse this extreme phenomenon -- when two black holes merge into one.

When this cosmic death spiral occurs, it shoots gravitational waves across the universe which scientists have been detecting for the last decade.

For the new research published in Nature, an international team of researchers analyzed data from the strongest gravitational wave ever recorded, known as GW250114, detected by the LIGO observatory in January 2025.

By isolating the last burst of waves -- known as "direct waves" -- from this black hole merger, the scientists said they were able to extract information from closer to an event horizon than ever before.

"This black hole horizon concept normally appears in science fiction," lead study author Sizheng Ma of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Canada told AFP.

"But now we are really able to touch the region around the horizon with gravitational data," he added.

"Sometimes I cannot believe this is really happening."

- Causing a stir -

The last stage of two black holes merging is like a spoon stirring a glass of water, Sizheng Ma explained.

The resulting swirl in space creates the ripple of gravitational waves that travel at the speed of light in all directions.

If the metaphorical spoon is stirring close enough to the black hole's event horizon, "this offers us a chance to decode the physics around that region", Sizheng Ma said.

By supporting the theory of general relativity, the results "proved that Einstein was correct again," he added.

The scientists emphasized that more research was needed to decipher what can be gleaned about event horizons using this method.

But they did detect information about how black holes twist space around themselves as they rotate -- a phenomenon known as "frame dragging".

"This is similar to pushing a glass into a table and twisting it, so that the tablecloth winds up around it," Maximiliano Isi, a gravitational wave astrophysicist at Columbia University, told AFP.

In the future, the team of scientists hope to find signs of tiny changes known as quantum fluctuation.

"In this way, we can really probe this near horizon region to look for a new physics," including searching for a deviation from general relativity, Sizheng Ma said.

- Reaction mixed -

Experts not involved in the study urged caution.

Francesco Sannino, an Italian theoretical physicist who studies black holes, told AFP it was "compelling analysis" but needed to be checked by other researchers.

Still, it was "striking" that the scientists were able to show that gravitational waves carried the event horizon's "fingerprints," he said.

The astrophysicist Isi described the work as "tantalizing".

"More generally, understanding the physics of black holes and their mergers is important as it might shed light on how space and time are woven together at a more fundamental level," he told AFP.

Sean McWilliams, an astrophysicist at West Virginia University, was skeptical that the gravitational wave frequency analyzed by the scientists was actually "dictated" by the event horizon.

For this reason, "the actual observed signal doesn't really tell us anything about the horizon or the other properties directly related to it", he told AFP.

Sizheng Ma said McWilliams's statement was "not correct," suggesting he had conflated two different aspects in the paper.

"There is often considerable resistance and criticism in the early stages of promoting a new concept," he said, adding he is working on another paper to "clarify these confusions and possible misinterpretations".

Varieties

Asteroid Zooming Past Earth on Saturday Visible to Stargazers

FILE PHOTO: A nighttime view of Earth, derived from satellite images taken daily over the past decade, capturing human activity on the planet through the emissions of artificial light, is seen in this image released on April 8, 2026. Michala Garrison/NASA Earth Observatory/Handout via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: A nighttime view of Earth, derived from satellite images taken daily over the past decade, capturing human activity on the planet through the emissions of artificial light, is seen in this image released on April 8, 2026. Michala Garrison/NASA Earth Observatory/Handout via REUTERS
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Asteroid Zooming Past Earth on Saturday Visible to Stargazers

FILE PHOTO: A nighttime view of Earth, derived from satellite images taken daily over the past decade, capturing human activity on the planet through the emissions of artificial light, is seen in this image released on April 8, 2026. Michala Garrison/NASA Earth Observatory/Handout via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: A nighttime view of Earth, derived from satellite images taken daily over the past decade, capturing human activity on the planet through the emissions of artificial light, is seen in this image released on April 8, 2026. Michala Garrison/NASA Earth Observatory/Handout via REUTERS

A large asteroid that will zoom harmlessly past Earth on Saturday will be visible to stargazers using a small telescope or large binoculars, the European Space Agency announced Wednesday.

The asteroid will come within 2,560,000 kilometers of Earth at 1114 GMT on Saturday, which is more than six times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

Called (152637) 1997 NC1, the asteroid will be speeding along at nearly nine kilometers a second, posing no threat to Earth as any chance of an impact has been ruled out.

Discovered in 1997, the asteroid is estimated to be between 750 and 1,650 meters wide, according to calculations based on how much sunlight it reflects.

However other estimates suggest it could be smaller, AFP quoted the ESA as saying in a statement.

"A close approach to Earth by an object this size only occurs every few years, although this time the bright nearby Moon might impede its observability at closest approach," Juan Luis Cano of the ESA's Planetary Defense Office said in a statement.

For stargazers with telescopes or binoculars, the asteroid will be visible in parts of the Northern Hemisphere as it approaches, almost everywhere as it speeds past Earth, and only from the Southern Hemisphere as it departs.

But this depends if people are in areas of the world where the sky is dark enough as it passes.

Varieties

Think Tank: Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei Face High Risk of Severe Haze this Year

People stop by a cafe with murals painted on its facade in the Arab Street district of Singapore on June 16, 2026. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP)
People stop by a cafe with murals painted on its facade in the Arab Street district of Singapore on June 16, 2026. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP)
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Think Tank: Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei Face High Risk of Severe Haze this Year

People stop by a cafe with murals painted on its facade in the Arab Street district of Singapore on June 16, 2026. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP)
People stop by a cafe with murals painted on its facade in the Arab Street district of Singapore on June 16, 2026. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP)

Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei face a high risk of severe haze this year due to hot and dry weather conditions, biofuel demand and economic pressures, a research institute said Wednesday.

The Singapore Institute of International Affairs said it was the second time it had issued a red risk rating since launching its Haze Outlook report in 2019. The previous red risk rating was in ⁠2023, Reuters reported.

Here are some ⁠details:

August to September is the peak danger period for haze in the Southeast Asian region, driven by the El Niño and Indian Ocean Dipole weather phenomena, the report said.

The ⁠return of El Niño is expected to create a longer and stronger dry season at a time when fire preparedness could be adversely affected by economic uncertainty and cost pressures.

The SIIA said rising costs of fertilizer and fuel as a result of the Iran war could lead to unsustainable activity such as the use ⁠of ⁠fire rather than machinery to clear land and dispose of waste.

Land use could also intensify as demand for biofuels rises due to energy supply disruptions.

"This trend will continue even if the US-Iran agreement holds, as countries now want energy independence," said SIIA associate director Khor Yu-Leng.

ASEAN cooperation and sustainable land management will be critical to reducing risks, the report said.