What Is Oregano Oil?

Oregano (Origanum vulgare) is an herb that is a member of the mint family (Labiatae). It has been considered a precious plant commodity for over 2,500 years in folk medicines that originated across the globe.

It has a very long use in traditional medicine for treating colds, indigestion and upset stomachs.

You might have some experience cooking with fresh or dried oregano leaves — such as oregano spice, one of the top herbs for healing — but oregano essential oil is far from what you’d put in your pizza sauce.

Found in the Mediterranean, throughout many parts of Europe, and in South and Central Asia, medicinal grade oregano is distilled to extract the essential oil from the herb, which is where a high concentration of the herb’s active constituents are found. It takes over 1,000 pounds of wild oregano to produce just one pound of oregano essential oil, in fact.

The oil’s active ingredients are preserved in alcohol and used in essential oil form both topically (on the skin) and internally. When made into a medicinal supplement or essential oil, oregano is often called “oil of oregano.” As mentioned above, oregano oil is considered a natural alternative to prescription antibiotics.

Oil of oregano contains two powerful compounds called carvacrol and thymol, both of which have been shown in studies to have strong antibacterial and antifungal properties.

Studies show that the plant’s leaves contain a variety of antioxidant compounds, such as phenols, triterpenes, rosmarinic acid, ursolic acid and oleanolic acid. One paper discussed how carvacrol “has emerged for its wide spectrum activity extended to food spoilage or pathogenic fungi, yeast and bacteria as well as human, animal and plant pathogenic microorganisms including drug-resistant and biofilm forming microorganisms.”

Carvacrol has been the focus of over 800 studies referenced in PubMed, the world’s No. 1 database for scientific evidence-based literature.

Benefits

Here’s a look at the top health benefits of oregano oil:

1. 1. Natural Alternative to Antibiotics

   Overuse of antibiotics, and prescribing broad-spectrum drugs when they aren’t needed, can cause a range of problems. It can make the drugs less effective against the bacteria they are intended to treat by fostering the growth of antibiotic-resistant infections, and it can wipe out the body’s good bacteria (probiotics), which help digest food, produce vitamins and protect from infections, among other functions.

   Unfortunately, broad-spectrum antibiotics are very commonly prescribed, often for conditions in which they have no use, such as viral infections. In one study published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, researchers from the University of Utah and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that 60 percent of the time when physicians prescribe antibiotics, they choose broad-spectrum types.

   In contrast, what does oil of oregano do for you that makes it so beneficial? Essentially, taking oregano oil is a “broad-spectrum approach” to protecting your health.

   Its active ingredients help fight multiple types of harmful pathogens, including bacteria, yeast and fungi. As a study in the Journal of Medicinal Food journal stated, oregano oils “represent an inexpensive source of natural antibacterial substances that exhibited potential for use in pathogenic systems.”

2. 2. Fights Infections and Bacterial Overgrowth

   There’s evidence that oregano essential oil can help fight at least several strains of bacteria that cause health problems that are commonly treated with antibiotics.

   Here are some highlights of the ways oregano oil benefits these conditions:

   • Dozens of studies confirm the fact that oregano oil can be used in place of harmful antibiotics for a number of health concerns.
   • In 2011, the Journal of Medicinal Food published a study that evaluated the antibacterial activity of oregano oil against five different types of bad bacteria. After evaluating the antibacterial characteristics of oil of oregano, it showed significant antibacterial properties against all five species. The highest activity was observed against E. Coli, which suggests that oregano oil could potentially be routinely used to promote gastrointestinal health and prevent deadly food poisoning.
   • A 2013 study published in Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture concluded that “O. vulgare extracts and essential oil from Portuguese origin are strong candidates to replace synthetic chemicals used by the industry.” Researchers from the study found that after studying the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of oregano, Origanum vulgare inhibited the growth of seven tested strains of bacteria that other plant extracts could not.
   • One study involving mice that was published in the journal Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia also found impressive results. In addition to fighting bacteria like listeria and E. coli, researchers also found evidence that oregano oil may have the ability to help pathogenic fungi.
   • Other evidence shows that oregano oil’s active compounds (such as thymol and carvacrol) can help fight toothaches and earaches caused by bacterial infections. A 2005 study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases concluded, “Essential oils or their components placed in the ear canal can provide effective treatment of acute otitis media.”

3. 3. Helps Reduce Side Effects From Medications/Drugs

   In recent years, many studies have found that one of the most promising oregano oil benefits is helping reduce side effects from medications/drugs. These studies give hope to people who want to find a way to manage the horrible suffering that accompanies drugs and medical interventions, such as chemotherapy or use of drugs for chronic conditions like arthritis.

   A study published in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine showed that phenols in oil of oregano can help protect against methotrexate toxicity in mice. Oregano was shown to work better than drugs that are ineffective at providing full protection against MTX’s adverse effects.

   Similarly, research conducted in the Netherlands showed that oregano essential oil can also “prevent bacterial overgrowth and colonization in the large intestine during oral iron therapy.”

4. 4. Helps Treat Athlete’s Foot

   One study found that a combination of heat, salt and use of essential oils (including oregano) had inhibitory effects against mycelia of T. rubrum and conidia of T. mentagrophytes, bacterial strains that commonly cause the fungal infection known as athlete’s foot.

   The researchers concluded that thermotherapy combined with essential oils and salt would be promising to treat tinea pedis in a foot bath. After testing the fungicidal activity of 11 essential oils against the bacteria known to cause athlete’s foot, oregano oil was found to be the most powerful (followed by thyme, cinnamon bark, lemongrass and clove).

5. 5. Helps Treat Digestive Issues (Including SIBO and Heartburn)

   Several of the active compounds found in Origanum vulgare can help aid digestion by relaxing the muscles of the GI tract and also helping balance the ratio of good-to-bad bacteria in the gut.

   Thymol, one of oregano’s active compounds, is a similar compound to menthol, which is found in peppermint oil. Because it helps balance bacteria and fights yeast overgrowth, oregano essential oil is also a popular natural treatment for candida and SIBO.

   A 2014 study published in Global Advances in Health & Medicine found evidence that use of herbal antimicrobials is just as effective as the antibiotic usually given for the treatment of SIBO.

6. 6. Can Help Treat Parasites

   One study found that when adults whose stools tested positive for enteric parasites (including Blastocystis hominis) supplemented with 600 milligrams of oregano for six weeks, many experienced significant improvements in gastrointestinal symptoms.

7. 7. Helpful for Managing Inflammatory Conditions (such as IBD or Rheumatism)

   Oregano retains its strong antioxidant capacity in both fresh and dry form. Due to its high concentration of antioxidants, oregano essential oil has been shown to help reduce oxidative damage and help in preventing mutagenesis, carcinogenesis and aging due its free radical scavenging activities.

   One study found that combined treatment with thyme and oregano essential oils helped reduce the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and thereby may help attenuate colitis (a type of inflammatory bowel disease) in mice.

8. 8. May Help Improve Cholesterol Levels

   Research published in the Journal of International Medical Research suggests that adding oregano oil supplementation can improve cholesterol levels.

   For the study, 48 patients with mild hyperlipidemia were given lifestyle and low-fat dietary advice. After the three-month study period, those in the study group showed significantly greater increases in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and significantly greater decreases in low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol compared to the control group.

How to Use

Oregano oil can be used topically, diffused or taken internally (after consulting with your healthcare professional and only if it’s 100 percent therapeutic grade oil). Ideally, you purchase 100 percent pure, unfiltered, Certified USDA Organic oregano oil.

It’s also available as oregano oil soft gels or capsules to take internally.

How much oregano essential oil to take internally:

Your oil of oregano dosage will depend on the condition you’re treating. In capsule form, oral supplementation of emulsified oregano is typically around 600 milligrams daily. (Either taken in one or two doses.)

A traditional use of oregano leaves is making digestive-aid tea. You can buy pre-made oregano tea or make your own by steeping 15 grams of oregano leaves in 250 milliliters of water for at least five–10 minutes (or longer to make a stronger herbal infusion, up to 24 hours).

Because oregano oil might interfere with other medications, always ask your healthcare professional if it’s safe to take internally depending on your specific situation.

Risks, Side Effects and Interactions

You may be asking: What limits does oil of oregano have? At this point, it’s not perfectly clear.

To prevent negative skin reactions from oregano application, it’s recommended that you perform a small patch test first and always use a carrier oil.

The dried herb oregano is typically fine for pregnant women, but generally speaking, it’s not considered safe to use oregano oil during pregnancy. When using oil of oregano, pregnant women should use caution and only use if instructed by their physicians to do so.

If side effects such as nausea, dizziness or an allergic reaction are ever experienced, stop using oregano oil right away, and consider seeing a doctor.

Conclusion

Oregano (Origanum vulgare) is an herb used to make oil of oregano, which has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties.

Oregano oil health benefits include fighting bacterial infections, fungal infections, digestive problems, inflammatory conditions and tumor growth.

Oil of oregano can be used on the skin (such as to treat athlete’s foot or nail fungus), diffused or taken internally (such as to aid digestion and help promote gut health).