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Oil of Wild Oregano
By Lesley Braun B.Pharm,
Dip.App.Sci.NAT, Grad Dip.Phyto, PhD
According
to the Western herbal medicine tradition, oregano has been used as an
expectorant and natural antibiotic to treat cough and as a digestive stimulant
to alleviate dyspepsia and increase appetite. Its antibacterial properties have
also been used to treat skin and gastrointestinal infections. Additionally, it
has been used for menstrual conditions such as period pain.
Like all herbs, oregano has several
other names. It is also known as origanum, mountain mint, wild or winter
marjoram, wintersweet and carvacrol.
More recently, the essential oil of
wild oregano has become popular and found to contain many active ingredients.
One of the most important is carvacrol. Carvacrol-containing essential oils
such as oregano are biostatic or biocidal against many bacteria, yeasts and
fungi (1).
This means the oils can either eradicate or stop the growth of many different
micro-organisms. Thymol is the other major active ingredient in oregano oil and
also has antibacterial effects.
Naturally, wild oregano oil has broad
spectrum antibacterial activity, much like an antibiotic drug. This has been
demonstrated in multiple test tube studies. For example, it stops the growth of
the main bacteria responsible for food poisoning and travellers diarrhoea (E.coli)
and a common bacteria involved in many skin infections (S.aureus) (2).
It also has antifungal activity and is effective against the yeast Candida
albicans which is the fungus responsible for vaginal thrush. The oil has
also been used to treat intestinal parasites. This is supported by a human
study which found that treatment with an emulsified form of the oil eradicated
most of the infectious agents after 6 weeks (3).
New research suggests that wild oregano
oil may play a future role in treating some antibiotic resistant infections
such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE). Both of these
strains have been observed worldwide in extensive hospital outbreaks and are
presenting doctors with huge challenges. According to test tube studies,
topically applied oregano oil has antibacterial effects against both MRS
strains (4).
Now what’s required is human research to determine just how good the oil is in
clinical practice.
Due to its many different effects, wild
oregano oil has many varied uses. It has been used orally for respiratory
infections such as sinusitis and the common cold, allergies, ear infections and
arthritis. Sometimes it is applied topically to treat conditions such as acne,
athlete’s foot, dandruff and insect bites. Oregano oil has been used as an
insect repellent against biting midges which are sometimes called no-see-ums (Culicodoides imicola).
To date, there have been relatively few human studies to confirm these benefits
and further research is urgently required.
Besides acting as a natural antibiotic,
antifungal and antiparasitic medicine, wild oregano oil has antioxidant
properties (5).
This is due to key ingredients carvacrol and thymol working together with other
natural ingredients found in the oil. The antioxidant effect provides an
explanation as to why the ancients found oregano such an effective food
preservative. Interestingly, it’s still used for this purpose by the food
industry today.
In the United States,
oregano oil is Generally Recognised as Safe (GRAS). Despite this, it is not
recommended in pregnancy. In some cases it can also cause possible side effects
such as gastrointestinal discomfort and loose bowels when taken orally. People
who are allergic to the Lamiaceae family of plants should avoid use of this
substance. Finally, if you are going to use oregano oil on the skin, it’s a
good idea to apply it to a small area first and wait and see whether it causes
an irritation before applying it to larger areas of the skin.
By
Lesley
Braun B.Pharm, Dip.App.Sci.NAT, Grad Dip.Phytotherapy, PhD
Reference
List
(1) Dusan
F, Marian S, Katarina D, Dobroslava B. Essential oils--their antimicrobial
activity against Escherichia coli and effect on intestinal cell viability.
Toxicology in Vitro 2006; 20(8):1435-1445.
(2) Baydar
H, Sagdic O, Ozkan G, Karadogan T. Antibacterial activity and composition of
essential oils from Origanum, Thymbra and Satureja species with commercial
importance in Turkey. Food Control 2004; 15(3):169-172.
(3) Force
M, Sparks WS, Ronzio RA. Inhibition of enteric parasites by emulsified oil of
oregano in vivo. Phytother Res 2000; 14(3):213-214.
(4) Nostro
A, Blanco AR, Cannatelli MA, Enea V, Flamini G, Morelli I et al. Susceptibility
of methicillin-resistant staphylococci to oregano essential oil, carvacrol and
thymol. FEMS Microbiology Letters 2004; 230(2):191-195.
(5)
Kulisic T, Radonic A, Katalinic V,
Milos M. Use of different methods for testing antioxidative activity of oregano
essential oil. Food Chemistry 2004; 85(4):633-640.
Oil of Oregano Fights Bacterial Infections
American College of Nutrition, October, 2001
Findings of two studies presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Nutrition held this month in Orlando, Florida, revealed that oil of oregano is as effective as pharmaceutical antibiotics at killing bacteria. The news comes at a welcome time due to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria attributed to overprescribing of these drugs.
Research led by Harry G. Preuss, MD, MACN, CNS, professor of physiology and biophysics at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington DC, tested the effects of the herb on the common bacteria staphylococcus, which is becoming more drug-resistant, and is the culprit in many infections. In one in vitro study, oregano oil was compared to the drugs streptomycin, vancomycin and penicillin, and was found to inhibit staphylococcus growth as effectively as the pharmaceutical antibiotics. A second study involved eighteen staphylococcus-infected mice, of whom six received oil of oregano and six received a substance known as carvacrol, believed to be oregano oil's active ingredient against bacteria. The carvacrol used in the study was derived from olive oil, not oregano oil. The remaining six mice received olive oil. After thirty days, half of the mice receiving oregano oil were alive, but none of the carvacrol treated mice lived longer than twenty-one days. The mice in the group receiving olive oil did not survive beyond three days. The study was repeated with the same results, which demonstrates that other ingredients in oil of oregano are responsible for its antibiotic effect.
Dr Preuss stated, "While this investigation was performed only in test tubes and on a small number of mice, the preliminary results are promising and warrant further study. The ability of oils from various spices to kill infectious organisms has been recognized since antiquity. Natural oils may turn out to be valuable adjuvants or even replacements for many antigermicidals under a variety of conditions."
Oregano Oil:
Nature's Super Germ Fighter
James South, M.A
An avid supporter of supplementation, James South is a biochemist who for over 25-years has "experimented" on himself with leading edge products. Author of numerous articles and newsletters, including editor-in-chief of the much respected Optimal Health Review, Mr. South is deeply involved with international research and has been responsible for many of the leading nutrient formulations in the United States.
With the advent of widespread antibiotic usage in the late 1940s, doctors began to vanquish the bacterial germ diseases that had ravaged mankind since ancient times. By the 1960s such ancient enemies as diphtheria, scarlet fever, syphilis, bubonic plague and tuberculosis were easily treatable with modern antibiotics. Yet by the 1990s, antibiotics were no longer hailed as the miracle they had seemed just 40 years earlier. By the 1990s many bacteria had developed a resistance to most antibiotics. Widespread overuse of antibiotics also seemed to promote a new plague: the development of fungal infections especially Candida albicans in the young, the elderly and the immunocompromised.1-3
Ironically, research beginning in the 1950s (the golden years of antibiotic usage)4 continuing to the present day, has provided a remedy for both bacterial antibiotic resistance and fungal infestation: oregano oil. Oregano oil is produced by distillation from the leaves and flowers of wild Mediterranean oregano (Origanum Vulgare).1 Oregano oil is rich in phenolic compounds, including carvacrol and thymol, 6,7 which have been shown to be powerfully germicidal against a wide range of bacteria, fungi and protozoal parasites, even at minute concentrations of the oil.3-11
Although modern science has verified the broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity of oregano oil, oregano has been used for medicine and food preservation for thousands of years. According to oregano expert Dr. Cass Ingram, ancient Greek physicians routinely used oregano to treat a myriad of conditions, including open wounds, lung disorders, venomous bites and narcotic poisoning. When Islamic civilization flourished in the Middle Ages, its doctors used oregano and its oil to treat germ diseases. Powdered wild oregano was then used as a food preservative, keeping unrefrigerated vegetables unspoiled for up to two weeks. Medieval Europeans used wild oregano to prevent milk spoilage. In the 1600s British herbalist Gerard promoted oregano as the ideal treatment for head colds.1
A large number of in vitro, or test tube studies, have shown oregano oil, or its most active constituents carvacrol and thymol, to kill a broad range of bacteria and fungi. Conner and Beuchat tested 32 plant oils against 13 food-spoilage and industrial yeasts by the agar diffusion method. Growing yeasts were spread on special plates onto the center of which small (6 mm) discs dipped in one percent or 10 percent essential oil were placed. The zone of inhibition, wherein no yeasts grew, was measured after four days. Out of 32 oils, only garlic oil had a larger average zone of inhibition than oregano oil, and oregano had a larger zone of inhibition than garlic oil for four of 13 yeasts tested.4
Hammer and colleagues investigated 52 plant oils for activity against nine bacteria and the yeast Candida using the agar diffusion method. Oregano oil was one of only three oils that inhibited the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a hard-to-kill bacterium that causes human wound infections. Overall, oregano oil was better at inhibiting germ growth than all oils tested except lemon grass oil. Oregano oil was effective at concentrations as low as 0.12 percent.5
Tantaoui-Elaraki and Beraoud tested 13 essential oils against the common food contaminant mold Aspergillus parasiticus. Oregano oil was one of four oils that could completely stop mold growth at concentrations as low as 0.1 percent. The production of aflatoxins, incredibly potent toxins produced by many Aspergillus species, was also measured. Oregano oil was one of three oils that could inhibit aflatoxin production more than 90 percent at an oil concentration of only 0.01 percent, and one of six oils that could completely inhibit aflatoxin production at 0.1 percent.6
Baratta and coworkers tested sage, rosemary, oregano, laurel and coriander oils against 25 bacteria. They noted that oregano oil manifested the broadest and highest activity against almost all of the bacteria tested; in fact it strongly inhibited 19 of the 25 bacterial strains under investigation, showed a good activity against four bacteria and proved to be ineffective against the growth of [two]. 7 They also found coriander and oregano oil to have the highest activity against the fungus Aspergillus niger. The zones of inhibition (ZI) were typically much greater for oregano oil than the other four. Thus the ZI for oregano oil against Salmonella bacteria was 46.8 mm, compared to 7.6-12.6 mm for the other four oils; 29.8 mm against Yersinia vs. 6.8-12.3 mm for the other four oils; 31.1 mm against Citrobacter vs. 9.7-13 mm for the other four, etc. Only two oils killed Pseudomonas aeruginosa: rosemary (ZI=8.6 mm) and oregano (ZI=12.0 mm).7
Stiles and colleagues used both agar diffusion and the serial broth dilution techniques to measure oregano oil s activity against Candida albicans, the cause of the yeast syndrome. Oregano oil was compared to Nystatin and Ca/Mg caprylate, two common Candida treatments. At a concentration of just 0.91 mcg/ml (about 1 part/million), oregano oil had the same ZI as Nystatin: 22-25 mm. At 1.82 mcg/ml (about 2 parts/million), oregano oil had a ZI of 40-45 mm. Using the broth dilution technique to measure the quantity needed to kill 99.9 percent of the Candida, it took 45 mcg/ml of oregano oil, but 5,000 mcg/ml of the Ca/Mg caprylate.8
Manohar and coworkers tested oregano oil against Candida both in vitro and in vivo. Using the broth dilution technique, it took just 0.25 mg/ml (about 250 parts/million) to completely kill Candida, and 0.125 mg/ml to prevent the germ tube formation and mycelial filament elongation necessary to cause Candida tissue invasion. Groups of six mice were injected with 12.5 million live Candida cells. All of the control group, which received no antimicrobial, was dead within ten days. Six groups of mice were force-fed oregano oil dissolved in olive oil at a dose from 8.66 to 52 mg/kg of bodyweight. Five of six survived 30 days (when the experiment was terminated) with 8.66 mg/kg, while all of the other groups survived 30 days.3
Force and colleagues gave 600 mg emulsified oregano oil for six weeks to 13 adults who had tested positive for intestinal parasites (Entamoeba, Endolinax, or Blastocystis). Parasites could no longer be detected in 10 of the 13 after the treatment. The parasite score (parasites counted under a microscope) decreased for the other three. Seven of the eight who had originally tested positive for Blastocystis hominis reported significant improvement of their symptoms, such as bloating, GI cramping, alternating diarrhea and constipation, and fatigue.9 Oregano is GRAS (generally regarded as safe), but the oil should be used with caution, as it can be irritating to the mucous membranes. It should be taken with food, partway through a meal, not on an empty stomach. Oregano oil may trigger the die-off phenomenon in those suffering intestinal candidiasis or other intestinal microbial infestation due to its powerful germ-killing action. See reference for more detail on the die-off.
In an age when food poisoning sickens or kills many thousands annually, oil of oregano taken with meals may be the best preventative.
References:
1. Ingram, C. The Cure is in the Cupboard. Buffalo Grove, IL:Knowledge House, 2001.
2. Crook, W. The Yeast Connection and Women s Health. Jackson, TN: Professional Books, 2003.
3. Manohar, V. et al. Antifungal activities of origanum oil against Candida albicans. Mol Cell Biochem, 2001, 228: 111-17.
4. Maruzzella, J. & Lichtenstein, M. The in vitro antibacterial activity of essential oils. J Am Pharm Assoc, 1956, 47: 250 ff.
5. Hammer, K. et al. Antimicrobial activity of essential oils and other plant extracts . J Appl Microbial, 1999, 86:985-90.
6.Tantatoui-Elaraki, A and Beraoud, L. Inhibition of growth and aflatoxin production in Aspergillus parasiticus by essential oils of selected plant materials. J Environ Path Toxicol Oncol, 1994, 13: 67-72.
7. Baratta, M.T. et al. Chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidative activity of laurel, sage rosemary, oregano and coriander essential oils. J Essent Oil Res, 1998, 10:618-27.
8. Stiles, J. et al. The inhibition of Candida albicans by oregano . J Appl Nutr, 1995, 47:96-102.
9. Force, M. et al. Inhibition of enteric parasites by emulsified oil of oregano in vivo . Phytother Res, 2000, 14:213-14.
10. Knobloch, K. et al. Antibacterial and antifungal properties of essential oil components. J Essent Oil Res, 1989, 1:119-28.
11. Conner, D. & Beuchat, L. Effects of essential oils from plants on growth of food spoilage yeasts. J Food Sci, 1984, 49:429-34.
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