ABSTRACT The concept of “One Health” has developed an inimitable bond between humans and plants, and from the dawn of humankind, plants have been consumed for both food and medicine. The use of plant‐based products has increased due to their health‐promoting potential, owing to nutritional composition and rich phytochemistry. The current review focuses on medicinal properties, safety studies, and effective applications of Thymus serpyllum , thymol, and carvacrol. For this, databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect were utilized, along with several relevant keywords. The studies showed that Thymus serpyllum , a member of the genus thyme, is native to hilly regions and has been used in traditional medicine for centuries. Thymol and carvacrol are key bioactive compounds; moreover, β‐caryophyllene, γ‐terpinene, α‐thujene, linalool, gallic acid, naringin, and rutin are other phytochemicals of T. serpyllum , providing antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti‐inflammatory, anticancer, and antidiabetic properties. Furthermore, thymol and carvacrol are involved in immunomodulation, hepatorenal protection, cardiopulmonary protection, and the mitigation of neurodegenerative disorders. These therapeutic potentials are attributed to an improved antioxidant system, reduced IL‐6, IL‐1β, TNF‐α, NO, and modulation of signaling pathways (PI3K/Akt/mTOR/NF‐κB, Ras/MAPK). Both compounds have proved safe. However, thymol > 1000 mg/kg and carvacrol > 2480 mg/kg proved toxic in animal studies. The applications of thymol and carvacrol make them suitable choices for pharmaceutics, food technologists, veterinarians, and industrialists.
Noman et al. (2026) studied this question.