Summary of Origanum vulgare
Primary Information, Benefits, Effects, and Important Facts
Origanum vulgare is the botanical name for the spice oregano. It is commonly used to flavor food or brew tea. The essential oil of oregano also has several alternate uses. It is made up primarily of carvacrol. The leaves of the plant contain a variety of antioxidant compounds, such as rosmarinic acid.
Traditionally, a leaf of Origanum vulgare is taken alongside a meal to aid digestion. One of the active components, thymol, is structurally similar to menthol, which is found in peppermint and is known to relax the soft tissue of the throat and stomach.
The oil of Oreganum vulgare is antibacterial, and has been used to prolong the shelf life of food products by reducing the rate of microbe growth and reducing the spoilage of fatty acids, which occurs when food products like meat go bad.
There is not much human evidence on supplementing either the leaf or oil form of Oreganum vulgare. The oil’s antioxidant aspect seems to be comparable to vitamin C ex vivo (outside the body). Origanum vulgare hinders bacterial replication, but further research is needed to pinpoint the exact mechanism.
The antibacterial properties of oregano oil suggest it is effective at warding off infection and boosting the human immune system, but human evidence for these effects is lacking. The lone study noting substantial efficacy against intestinal infection was funded by a manufacturer of oregano oil.
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Things To Know & Note
Is a Form Of
Primary Function:
Also Known As
Oregano, Oil of Oregano, Wild Marjoram
Do Not Confuse With
Origanum majorana (Sweet Marjoram)
Caution Notice
Examine.com Medical DisclaimerHow to Take Origanum vulgare
Recommended dosage, active amounts, other details
The only study on using oil of oregano for oral supplementation used a dose of 600mg. To make tea, steep 15g of oregano leaves in 250mL of water.
The tea is traditionally used to aid digestion, while the oil has antibacterial properties that may boost the immune system.
Both the tea and oil is usually supplemented once a day.
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Human Effect Matrix
The Human Effect Matrix looks at human studies (it excludes animal and in vitro studies) to tell you what effects origanum vulgare has on your body, and how strong these effects are.
Grade | Level of Evidence [show legend] |
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Robust research conducted with repeated double-blind clinical trials |
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Multiple studies where at least two are double-blind and placebo controlled |
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Single double-blind study or multiple cohort studies |
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Uncontrolled or observational studies only |
Level of Evidence
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The amount of high quality evidence. The more
evidence, the more we can trust the results.
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Outcome |
Magnitude of effect
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The direction and size of the supplement's impact on
each outcome. Some supplements can have an increasing effect, others have a decreasing effect, and others have no effect.
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Consistency of research results
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Scientific research does not always agree. HIGH or
VERY HIGH means that most of the scientific research agrees.
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Notes |
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- See study |
One lone study (potential financial influence) has noted ablation of parasites in infected humans (77% of study group) and a reduction otherwise as assessed by stool samples.
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Research Breakdown on Origanum vulgare
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References
- ^ Novo JM, et al. Spectroscopy, Microscopy and Fluorescence Imaging of Origanum vulgare L. Basis for Nondestructive Quality Assessment. Photochem Photobiol. (2013)
- ^ Sõukand R, et al. Plants used for making recreational tea in Europe: a review based on specific research sites. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. (2013)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Koukoulitsa C, et al. Polar constituents from the aerial parts of Origanum vulgare L. Ssp. hirtum growing wild in Greece. J Agric Food Chem. (2006)
- ^ a b c Shen D, et al. LC-MS method for the simultaneous quantitation of the anti-inflammatory constituents in oregano (Origanum species). J Agric Food Chem. (2010)
- ^ a b c d e f Kulisić T, et al. The effects of essential oils and aqueous tea infusions of oregano (Origanum vulgare L. spp. hirtum), thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) and wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum L.) on the copper-induced oxidation of human low-density lipoproteins. Int J Food Sci Nutr. (2007)
- ^ a b c d e f Venkateswara Rao G, et al. Chemical constituents and biological studies of Origanum vulgare Linn. Pharmacognosy Res. (2011)
- ^ a b Nowak R, et al. HPTLC-densitometry determination of triterpenic acids in Origanum vulgare, Rosmarinus officinalis and Syzygium aromaticum. Acta Pol Pharm. (2013)
- ^ a b Matsuura H, et al. DPPH radical scavengers from dried leaves of oregano (Origanum vulgare). Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. (2003)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Teixeira B, et al. Chemical composition and bioactivity of different oregano (Origanum vulgare) extracts and essential oil. J Sci Food Agric. (2013)
- ^ a b c d De Falco E, et al. Chemical Composition and Biological Activity of Essential Oils of Origanum vulgare L. subsp. vulgare L. under Different Growth Conditions. Molecules. (2013)
- ^ a b c Afarineshe Khaki MR, et al. Antinociceptive Effect of Aqueous Extract of Origanum vulgare L. in Male Rats: Possible Involvement of the GABAergic System. Iran J Pharm Res. (2013)
- ^ Arzi A, et al. The study of analgesic effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Origanum vulgare in rat by formalin test.
- ^ Balerio GN, Rubio MC. Baclofen analgesia: involvement of the GABAergic system. Pharmacol Res. (2002)
- ^ dos Santos NS, et al. Efficacy of the application of a coating composed of chitosan and Origanum vulgare L. essential oil to control Rhizopus stolonifer and Aspergillus niger in grapes (Vitis labrusca L.). Food Microbiol. (2012)
- ^ Luz Ida S, et al. Evidence for lack of acquisition of tolerance in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium ATCC 14028 after exposure to subinhibitory amounts of Origanum vulgare L. essential oil and carvacrol. Appl Environ Microbiol. (2012)
- ^ Krkić N, et al. Lipid oxidative changes in chitosan-oregano coated traditional dry fermented sausage Petrovská klobása. Meat Sci. (2013)
- ^ Asensio CM, Nepote V, Grosso NR. Chemical stability of extra-virgin olive oil added with oregano essential oil. J Food Sci. (2011)
- ^ Asensio CM, Nepote V, Grosso NR. Sensory attribute preservation in extra virgin olive oil with addition of oregano essential oil as natural antioxidant. J Food Sci. (2012)
- ^ de Barros JC, et al. Combination of Origanum vulgare L. essential oil and lactic acid to inhibit Staphylococcus aureus in meat broth and meat model. Braz J Microbiol. (2012)
- ^ Toulah FH, Esmail HA, Khan S. The efficacy of Origanum vulgare on Eimeria tenella. J Egypt Soc Parasitol. (2012)
- ^ Nostro A, Papalia T. Antimicrobial activity of carvacrol: current progress and future prospectives. Recent Pat Antiinfect Drug Discov. (2012)
- ^ a b Liang CH, Chou TH, Ding HY. Inhibition of melanogensis by a novel origanoside from Origanum vulgare. J Dermatol Sci. (2010)
- ^ a b Force M, Sparks WS, Ronzio RA. Inhibition of enteric parasites by emulsified oil of oregano in vivo. Phytother Res. (2000)