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Thymus piperella (L.) (family Labiatae) is an endemic taxon found in eastern Spain. The aerial part of T. piperella is principally used for culinary purposes, to flavour stuffings, sauces, pickles, stews, soups, etc. Moreover, it has traditionally been used to conserve and soften olives, and in the distillation of an alcoholic beverage named 'herbero', which is typical in the south of Valencia and north of Alicante, and whose digestive properties are well documented. Despite it being a popular plant in this region, to date T. piperella (L.) has not been pharmacologically described. Pharmacological assays have been carried out on the essential oil of Thymus piperella (L.) leaves. The oil was shown to be innocuous according to the acute oral toxicity test and exhibited antispasmodic action that significantly inhibited the contractions induced by acetylcholine in the isolated rat ileum in a concentration-dependent manner. Essential oil from Thymus piperella (L.) leaves was active against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, Streptococcus pyogenes and Mycobacterium phlei. Such antimicrobial activity would explain the popular use of this plant in the conservation of olives. Moreover, as the inhibition of contractile overactivity of the ileum (antispasmodic action) is the basis of the treatment of some gastrointestinal disorders, such as diarrhoea, and as many diarrhoea-causing diseases are associated with intestinal infection, Thymus piperella essential oil could constitute an alternative therapy in such cases. In this way, this species, so commonly used in the Mediterranean kitchen, may be beneficial to the health in more ways than one.

Histological and pharmacological assays have been carried out with methanol, hexane, dichloromethane and butanol extracts of Thymus piperella (L.) leaves. All the extracts were considered innocuo in the toxicity test. Methanol and also hexane, dichlorometane and butanol fractions, inhibited significantly the contractions induced by acetylcholine in isolated rat ileum in a concentration-dependent manner and the hexane extract was the most potent. However, the methanol extract did not modify the contractile effect of noradrenaline and histamine on isolated rat aorta and guinea-pig trachea respectively at the assayed dose (10, 100, 200 microg/mL). These results contribute to explain in part the use of this plant in folk medicine. In addition, morphological and histological structures characteristic of this species have been described for the first time.