Oregano health benefits

December 9, 2019

Introduction

Oregano scientific name is Origanum vulgare of Family- Lamiaceae is an aromatic, thyme-like flavored spice. It is derived from two Greek terms—oros (mountain) and ganos—(joy, beauty, decoration). Oregano can be used as a fresh, dry, and ready-to-use herb blend pastes. The leaves and tops before blooming have been used to flavor foods. This plant has been employed to flavor alcohol, beer, and perfumes, mainly due to its spicy fragrance. Oregano health benefits include the treatment of digestive, respiratory and urinary tract disorders, indigestion, dental caries, and rheumatoid arthritis

Common name

Wild Marjoram and Winter Sweet, Mirzanjosh, Sathra, Spanish thyme

Geographical distribution

It is native to warm-temperate western and southwestern Eurasia and Mediterranean regions mainly Asia, Europe, and North America

Constituents of Oregano

The leaves and flowering stems contain essential oils (carvacrol, thymol, p-cymene, etc.), flavonoids (apigenin, luteolin, salvigenin, cirsimaritin, diosmetin), phenolic acids (rosmarinic and caffeic acids), anthocyanins and other components as follows (1).

Compound	Amounts per 100 g.
Water	9.93 g
Energy	265 Kcal
Protein	9 g
Total lipid (fat)	4.28 g
Carbohydrate, by difference	68.92 g
Fiber, total dietary	42.5 g
Sugar	4.09 g
Calcium	1597 mg
Iron, Fe	36.8 mg
Magnesium	270 mg
Phosphorus	148 mg
Potassium	1260 mg
Sodium	25 mg
Zinc	2.69 mg
Copper	0.63 mg
Manganese	4.99 mg
Vitamin C	2.3 mg
Thiamin	0.17 mg
Riboflavin	0.53 mg
Niacin	4.64 mg
Pantothenic acid	0.92 mg
Vitamin B-6	1.04 mg
Folate, DFE	237 µg
Vitamin A, RAE	85 µg
Vitamin A	1701 IU
Vitamin E	18.26 mg
Vitamin K	621.7 µg
Fatty acids, total saturated	1.55 g
Fatty acids, total monounsaturated	0.72 g
Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated	1.37 g

Oregano health benefits

Oregano shows many therapeutic properties. Many of the oregano health benefits are antimicrobial, antiviral, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, anti urolithic, antiproliferative, etc. Let’s take a closer look at some of these proven health benefits below.

1. Rich in phenols

Oregano health benefits are mainly because of its high cytotoxic, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities due to the presence of the phenolic constituents, carvacrol, and thymol (2).

2. Insecticidal properties of Oregano due to terpenoid

Carvacrol and γ-terpinene present in oregano act as a defensive agent against Spodoptera littoralis (cotton leafworm) by decreasing larval survival and growth rate. Moreover, oregano also fights against Plutella xylostella, Callosobruchus maculatus and Culex quinquefasciatus (3).

3. Antioxidant properties

Rosmarinic and caffeic acid found in oregano show high antioxidant activity has free radical scavenging activity thus prevent cell damage. Thus the presence of phenolics and flavonoids compound in oregano is helpful to improve your health (4).

4. Treat diabetes due to rosmarinic acid in the leaf extract

Oregano leaves extract (20 mg/kg for 15 days) contain rosmarinic acid which plays an important role in decreasing blood glucose levels (5). Thus Oregano leaf reduced diabetes incidence and preserved normal insulin secretion without affecting basal plasma insulin concentrations (6).

Furthermore, oregano extracts also contain other phenolic antioxidants such as protocatechuic acid, quercetin, and p-coumaric acid which inhibit α-amylase activity thus help for the management of hyperglycemia, therefore, may use for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (7).

5. Treat Giardiasis

Giardiasis, an intestinal infection caused by protozoa (Giardia lamblia). It causes diarrhea, especially in infants. Different types of drugs like tinidazole, albendazole, furazolidone, and metronidazole are available in the market. But these have their own side effects like metronidazole cause loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, weakness, and anemia, blood in the urine, head tilt, seizures, disorientation and stumbling. Therefore, Oregano (200 mg/kg) is one of the safe ways to treat giardiasis because of its phenol content (8).

6. Treat Ulcer-associated dyspepsia

Helicobacter pylori are responsible for gastrointestinal disorders like gastritis and peptic ulcer, chronic gastritis, gastric carcinoma, and primary gastric B-cell lymphoma. The combination of oregano and cranberry extract show wonderful antimicrobial activity against pylori due to the presence of phenolic compound which enhances antioxidant enzyme activity (9).

7. Treat osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis

Oregano contains carvacrol, linalool, rosmarinic acid, thymol which is responsible for anti-inflammatory activity thus treat osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis (10).

8. Treat Urolithiasis

Urolithiasis is the formation of stones in the bladder or urinary tract. Oregano (10-30 mg/kg) contains saponins, alkaloids, coumarins, sterol, terpenes, flavonoids and tannins which inhibit calcium oxalate crystal deposition by diuretic, antioxidant, antispasmodic hypocalciuric and hypercitrauric properties (11).

9. Oregano treats acne

The presence of rosmarinic acid, quercetin, apigenin, and carvacrol in oregano leaves possess high anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity which suppress acne induce skin inflammation by fighting against Propionibacterium (12).

10. Treat liver injury

Oregano (400 mg/kg for 1 week) contains a rich amount of flavonoids and phenolic compounds which defend the body against liver damages induced by chemotherapeutic agents (13).

11. Protect from radiation

Ionizing radiation produces free radicals which induce DNA damage and cell death. Oregano leaf extract acts as a natural antioxidant and has the ability to scavenge free radicals and reactive oxygen species can reduce the cytotoxic effects of gamma irradiation (14).

12. Boost immunity

Oregano contains a bioactive compound that possesses anti-mycobacterial and anti-inflammatory activity. Thus oregano reduces the risk of the antibiotic-resistance pathogen (15).

13. Protect kidney injury

Paraquat is a toxic herbicide to both humans and animals that cause lung, kidney, and heart damage however oregano leaf extract plays a beneficial role against chronic kidney damage by increase good enzyme activity and decrease bad enzyme activity (16).

14. Reduce pain

Oregano leaf extract act as an analgesic agent that reduces pain by blocking the detection of pain by sensory neurons (17).

15. Anticancer properties

Presence of phenolics and flavonoids such as carvacrol and rosmarinic acid in oregano act as a cytotoxic agent that inhibits cell growth and induce apoptosis thus protect from different cancer like human glioblastoma and breast cancer (18,19).

16. Antibacterial properties

Thymol and Carvacrol found in oregano fight against different bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi (cause typhoid or enteric fever), Salmonella enteritidis, Aspergillus niger, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis.(20,21) Furthermore, oregano powder as a feed supplement inhibits the different pathogens without any effect on the liver and ileum (22).

17. Oregano prevent atherosclerosis

Research study proved that tea infusions of oregano, thyme, and wild thyme contain a high amount of phenols carvacrol and thymol which inhibit low-density lipoprotein oxidation thus prevent atherosclerosis (23)

Oregano side effects

Oregano is generally well tolerated and safe but excessive intake may cause the following side effects.

1. gastrointestinal upset

Oregano too much in the diet may cause gastrointestinal problems.

2. Skin reaction

Although the reports of skin reactions are very rare it may cause allergic skin reactions to some persons. But the reports are very rare.

3. Avoid too much oregano during breastfeeding

There is no such scientific data regarding oregano intake during breastfeeding. But it is advisable to take a controlled amount in foods as a flavoring during breastfeeding (24).

4. Allergy

If you are allergic to other family members of Lamiaceae (Labiatae) such as hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis), basil (Ocimum basilicum), marjoram (Origanum majorana), mint (Mentha piperita), sage (Salvia officinalis) and lavender (Lavandula officinalis), you may be allergic to oregano also, therefore, precaution should be needed before consumption (25).

Edited By: Dr. Asha Jyoti Bharati

Oregano health benefits

Introduction

Common name

Geographical distribution

Constituents of Oregano

Oregano health benefits

1. Rich in phenols

2. Insecticidal properties of Oregano due to terpenoid

3. Antioxidant properties

4. Treat diabetes due to rosmarinic acid in the leaf extract

5. Treat Giardiasis

6. Treat Ulcer-associated dyspepsia

7. Treat osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis

8. Treat Urolithiasis

9. Oregano treats acne

10. Treat liver injury

11. Protect from radiation

12. Boost immunity

13. Protect kidney injury

14. Reduce pain

15. Anticancer properties

16. Antibacterial properties

17. Oregano prevent atherosclerosis

Oregano side effects

1. gastrointestinal upset

2. Skin reaction

3. Avoid too much oregano during breastfeeding

4. Allergy

References

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