By Stephen Beech
A more effective way to harness the medicinal benefits of thyme has been developed.
The herb has several positive health applications with its biologically active compounds – thymol, carvacrol, rosmarinic acid, and caffeic acid – having anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and immune properties.
The main medicinal uses include treating respiratory, skin and oral health conditions as well as improving digestion.
But thyme extract also has downsides, say scientists.
It vaporizes quickly, making it challenging to use, and too much of it can be irritating, causing rashes and digestive issues.
A solution to both problems is to encapsulate nanodroplets of thyme extract within another fluid, allowing for small doses and avoiding evaporation.
Now Russian researchers from Tomsk Polytechnic University and Surgut State University have developed a method to achieve encapsulated nanodoses of thyme.
The process, described in the journal Physics of Fluids, involved jets of thyme extract, gelatin, sodium alginate – a commonly used thickening agent in the food industry – and oil.
The research team first created a solution of thyme extract and gelatin and then pushed it through a tiny chip simultaneously with a jet of sodium alginate.
The chip focused the two fluids into a single flow, but with a clear boundary between the components.
Then, a jet of oil sent in the perpendicular direction broke the multicomponent fluid apart into tiny, encapsulated droplets.
The researchers say the key takeaway from their work isn’t the dose of the thyme itself, but the demonstration that accurate thyme extract nanodosing is possible.
Study author Professor Maxim Piskunov said: “The system tends to be self-regulating in order to deliver a relatively consistent dose, which is valuable for drug delivery.
“At the same time, changing and adjusting the diameter of the microdroplets containing a biologically active substance nanodose is only possible by varying the oil phase flow rate.”
He says more work is needed to take the nanodose and place it into an oral capsule for pharmaceutical uses.
But he believes the technique is not limited to thyme and can be extended even beyond the pharmacological industry into the food sector.
Piskunov, of Tomsk Polytechnic University, said incorporating machine vision and artificial intelligence can further help with real-time nanodosing analysis.
He added: “We believe that this method can be used to encapsulate various aqueous extracts.
“From our study, no significant limitations have been identified.
“Moreover, we are currently working on encapsulating a water-alcohol extract with a much higher concentration of biologically active substances.”
