In a recent message Robert Rice wrote:                                          
                                                                                
>Interesting substance thymol (5-methyl-2-isopropyl-phenol).  Apparently        
>useful for discouraging mites and other such beasts.                           
                                                                                
Yes, this is so. If you to read the articel which appeared in the March         
1996 issue of the American Bee Journal about alternative Varroa control         
you will find more details about it.                                            
                                                                                
>Mind you if you have ever tasted Thyme honey you would know what too           
>much thymol in the brew can do to the flavour of honey.                        
                                                                                
Tests have been run for an answer to this question. The appropriate quote       
from the mentioned paper reads:                                                 
During the treament essential oil components accumulate in the wax. A great     
deal of them evaporates, after treatment. In honey, residues are mostly in      
the range of 0.1 to 0.2 mg/kg. Concentrations above 1.1 mg/kg (=1.1 ppm)        
alter the honey taste. From the point of view of human toxicology, these        
residues are not important.                                                     
                                                                                
>I later                                                                        
>found out that the thymol may have been conjugated to a sugar molecule         
>and that this would make its presence invisible to a GCG under the             
>process used to prepare the sample.  I would like to have this analysis        
>repeated again one of these days.                                              
                                                                                
If you interested in technical details one of the authors can help you. For     
the moment they only have one e-mail address which is:                          
                                                                                
- [log in to unmask]                                                     
                                                                                
Language no problem!                                                            
                                                                                
If there is a wide interest in an e-mail version of this paper I can try to     
get permission from the publisher for scanning it.                              
                                                                                
Any interest?                                                                   
                                                                                
Best regards                                                                    
                                                                                
Hans                                                                            
                                                                                
                __________________________________________________________      
Hans-Ulrich THOMAS. Beekeeper & collector of books about:                       
                                                                                
- bees and beekeeping                                                           
- ants (yes these small little buggers!)                                        
- nature printing                                                               
                                                                                
e-mail: [log in to unmask]                                              
CompuServe: 100045,2556                                                         
Fax: ++41 1 633 10 77                                                           
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