The Effect of Eight Week Thymus Vulgaris Consumption and Swimming Training on some Infectious Parameters in 10-13 Year Old Swimmer Girls

For many years, thyme has been introduced as an antibacterial plant that can prevent bacterial growth. Therefore, this research intended to study effect of using thyme herbal tea together with an eight-week swimming exercise training on some indicators of urinary infection in 10-13 years old young female swimmers in Tehran. Sixteen young female
swimmers were matched based on characteristics of infection and then divided into two groups of thyme+ swimming exercise training (8subjects) and placebo + swimming exercise training (8 participants). The subjects took part in the swimming exercise training program with the intensity level of 60-70% maximum heart rate in three weekly sessions for eight weeks. The experimental group received two grams of thyme before and two grams after each exercise session. Pool water and urine samples were taken and body composition assessment performed during the pretest and at the end of the eighth week. The independent t-test was used for statistical analysis and mann Whitney u test for qualitative data at the p<0.05 significance level. Study of intergroup changes in the number of white blood cells, average scores for urine epithelial cells, and average scores for urine appearance in the experimental and control groups revealed significant differences. Therefore, scores for the average number of red blood cells in urine, for urine pH, and average scores for urine culture in the control and experimental groups were not significantly different after taking thyme. Urine nitrate content in 10-13 years old female swimmers in Tehran in the experimental and control groups prior to and following thyme consumption was negative and did not change at all. It seems thyme complement and swimming exercise caused positive changes in urinary infection factors through various mechanisms. This research showed taking thyme significantly reduced some factors related to urinary infections including reduced number of white blood cells in urine, which could probably result from the properties of the flavonoids in thyme, the stimulation of the immune system, and the effect of the active ingredients thymol and carvacrol on bacteria.