Editing Thymol (section)

==History==
[[Ancient Egypt]]ians used thyme for [[embalming]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.history.com/news/hungry-history/a-brief-history-of-thyme|title=A Brief History of Thyme - Hungry History|website=HISTORY.com|access-date=2016-06-09|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160613081647/http://www.history.com/news/hungry-history/a-brief-history-of-thyme|archive-date=2016-06-13}}</ref> The [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]] used it in their baths and burned it as [[incense]] in their temples, believing it was a source of [[courage]].  The spread of thyme throughout Europe was thought to be due to the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], as they used it to purify their rooms and to "give an aromatic flavour to cheese and liqueurs".<ref name=Maud>{{cite web|url=http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/t/thygar16.html|title=Thyme. A Modern Herbal|edition=Hypertext version of the 1931|work=botanical.com|last=Grieve|first=Mrs. Maud|access-date=9 February 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110223130247/http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/t/thygar16.html|archive-date=23 February 2011}}</ref> In the European [[Middle Ages]], the herb was placed beneath pillows to aid sleep and ward off nightmares.<ref name=Huxley>Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan.</ref> In this period, women also often gave [[knight]]s and warriors gifts that included thyme leaves, because it was believed to bring courage to the bearer. Thyme was also used as incense and placed on [[coffin]]s during [[funerals]], because it was supposed to ensure passage into the next life.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.englishplants.co.uk/thyme.html|title=Thyme (thymus)|work=englishplants.co.uk|publisher=The English Cottage Garden Nursery|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060927050614/http://www.englishplants.co.uk/thyme.html|archive-date=2006-09-27}}</ref>

The bee balms ''[[Monarda fistulosa]]'' and ''[[Monarda didyma]]'', North American wildflowers, are natural sources of thymol. The [[Blackfoot]] Native Americans recognized these plants' strong [[antiseptic]] action and used [[poultice]]s of the plants for skin [[infection]]s and minor [[wound]]s. A [[tisane]] made from them was also used to treat mouth and throat [[infection]]s caused by dental [[caries]] and [[gingivitis]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Tilford |first=Gregory L. |date=1997 |title=Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West |location=Missoula, MT |publisher=Mountain Press Publishing |isbn=978-0-87842-359-0}}</ref>

Thymol was first isolated by German chemist [[Caspar Neumann (chemist)|Caspar Neumann]] in 1719.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Carolo |last=Neuman |date=1724 |title=De Camphora |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London |volume=33 |issue=389 |pages=321–332 |url=http://rstl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/33/381-391/321.full.pdf+html |doi=10.1098/rstl.1724.0061|doi-access=free |url-access=subscription }} On page 324, Neumann mentions that in 1719 he distilled some essential oils from various herbs. On page 326, he mentions that during these experiments, he obtained a crystalline substance from thyme oil, which he called "''Camphora Thymi''" ([[camphor]] of thyme). (Neumann gave the name "camphor" not only to the specific substance that today is called camphor but to any crystalline substance that precipitated from a volatile, fragrant oil from some plant.)</ref> In 1853, French chemist Alexandre Lallemand<ref>Marie-Étienne-Alexandre Lallemand (December 25, 1816 - March 16, 1886)</ref> (1816-1886) named thymol and determined its empirical formula.<ref>{{cite journal|first=A. |last=Lallemand |date=1853 |url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k29948/f502.image.langEN |title=Sur la composition de l'huile essentielle de thym |trans-title=On the composition of the essential oil of thyme |language=fr |journal=Comptes Rendus |volume=37 |pages=498–500}}</ref> [[Antiseptic]] properties of thymol were discovered in 1875,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Oettingen |first=Wolfgang Felix Von |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=reaUWvD-bhYC&pg=PA78 |title=Phenol and Its Derivatives: The Relation Between Their Chemical Constitution and Their Effect on the Organism |date=1949 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |isbn=978-0-598-95964-5 |language=en}}</ref> and it was first synthesized by Swedish chemist Oskar Widman<ref>Karl Oskar Widman (aka Carl Oskar Widman) (January 2, 1852 - August 26, 1930)</ref> (1852-1930) in 1882.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Oskar |last=Widmann |date=1882 |url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k90694n/f169.image.langEN |title=Ueber eine Synthese von Thymol aus Cuminol |trans-title=On a synthesis of thymol from cuminol |language=de |journal=Berichte der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin |volume=15 |pages=166–172 |doi=10.1002/cber.18820150139}}</ref>