WIt’s not just a fav in Italian cuisine. Oregano, its extracts and its essential oil turn out to have so many health benefits. Were you aware?
Read on to learn what this Mediterranean herb can do for you.
Where? What? How?
Oregano, or Oreganum vulgare, belongs to the Lamiaceae or Labiatae (which means ‘lipped’), also known as the Mints. It grows around the Mediterranean and in regions with a mild climate.
The above-ground parts contain an essential oil with several active components; carvacrol, p-cymene, rosmarinic acid, naringin, luteolin, … Next to a strong antioxidant effect, Oreganum vulgare has a strong protective effect on the kidneys. It’s also widely known for its antimicobial properties and its effect against viruses and fungi. One of the ways it exerts its effect against bacteria is through the prevention of the biofilm bacteria need to grow to be able to attach to cells. The combination of these strong antibacterial effect against multi-resistant bacteria (such as E.coli, Staphyloccous aureus and Streptococci) and anti-urolithiatic properties (agains kidney stones) makes an Oreganum vulgare extract very useful in the preventive as well as curative treatment of all kinds of kidney problems.
REFERENCES
Antibacterial activity of oregano (Origanum vulgare Linn.) against gram positive bacteria. Sabahat Saeed 1, Perween Tariq Pak J Pharm Sci. 2009 Oct;22(4):421-4.
Evaluation of combined antibacterial effects of eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, thymol, and carvacrol against E. coli with an improved method Rui-Song Pei 1, Feng Zhou, Bao-Ping Ji, Jing Xu J Food Sci. 2009 Sep;74(7):M379-83.
Antimicrobial activity of oregano (Origanum vulgare L.) and basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) extracts. Brđjanin S., BogdanovićN., KolundžićM., MilenkovićM., GolićN., KojićM., KundakovićT. Adv. Technol. 2015;4:5–10.
Antiurolithic activity of Origanum vulgare is mediated through multiple pathways. Khan A., Bashir S., Khan S.R., Gilani A.H. BMC Complement. Altern. Med. 2011;11:96.