![Oregano foliage](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081110103436im_/http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2005/051216.thyme-i.jpg) Oregano plants were the botanical source for the odor- and
pathogen-reducing thyme oil used in the study. Image courtesy J.S.
Peterson, USDA-NRCS PLANTS
Database. |
Waste Management: Its About Thyme
By Laura
McGinnis December 16, 2005
A 1,000-head cattle feedlot produces about 146 to 175 tons of wet
manure every weeka problematic figure for feedlot operators and their
neighbors. Despite its benefits as a natural fertilizer, manure is a source of
pathogens and odor. Fortunately, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are developing a method to
reduce manures negative properties. All they need is a little thyme.
Thymol is the active component in thyme oil, which can be extracted
from a variety of plants, such as thyme and oregano. Because of its pleasant
odor and natural antiseptic properties, thymol appears in a variety of
products, including mouthwash and throat lozenges. ARS microbiologists
Elaine
Berry,
Vince
Varel and
Jim
Wells discovered that its qualities can also benefit feedlots. When applied
to cattle feedlot soil in slow-release granules, thymol reduced concentrations
of odor-causing volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and pathogens like coliform
bacteria and Escherichia coli. Berry, Varel and Wells work in the ARS
Nutrition
Research Unit, part of the agencys
Roman
L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Neb.
The researchers observed even more prolonged effects in swine
facilities, which might be due to the pits some swine operators employ to
collect and store manure. The enclosed systems could retain more thymol than
the cattle feedlots, increasing its effectiveness.
The scientists also tested less expensive compounds in the lab,
including terpineol, linalool, plinol and geraniol. Most promoted reduction of
VFAs and pathogens like E. coli and Salmonella. Linalool was
nearly as effective as thymol in the lab, but when subjected to field studies
in the feedlot, thymol outperformed it. This may have been due to dry weather
conditions during the test period, the researchers speculate. They plan to
conduct more tests in the spring, when feedlot conditions will more closely
resemble the slurries in which the compounds were initially tested.
ARS is the U.S. Department of
Agricultures chief in-house scientific research agency.