The Effect of Thyme on Oxidative Stress and Total Antioxidant Capacity in Men after One Session of Intense Exercise

Today herbal supplements are common to reduce the effects of free radicals. Since thyme is one of the richest sources of antioxidants in traditional medicine, the aim of this study was the effect of thyme drink on total anti-oxidative capacity (TAC) and MDA in young active men after a session of exhaustive exercise. In a quasi-experimental design, 20 young men who met the criteria for inclusion were randomly assigned to two groups: experimental and control. The first group received natural thyme (300 ml daily) for two weeks and the second group received the same amount of a placebo daily. After two weeks, both groups participated in a session of exhaustive exercise and blood samples were evaluated at the beginning and end of the study. Results showed that thyme significant increased TAC in the posttest compared with the pretest (P=0.032). The comparison of placebo group indicated no significant differences in TAC between pretest and posttest (P=0.39). The results showed that the thyme significantly reduced MDA in posttest compared with the pretest (P=0.002). But there were no significant differences in MDA between pretest and posttest in placebo group (P=0.24). According to these results, thyme supplementation can be used to reduce oxidative damages due to intense exercise