Oil of oregano

Oregano (Origanum vulgare, family Lamiaceae) is a popular cooking ingredient recognized for its wide health promoting and antimicrobial effects. It is an aromatic plant with a wide distribution throughout the Mediterranean area and Asia.

Savory are aromatic plants used for production of essential oils (EOs). Essential oils can be defined as “volatile oils or essences derived from vegetation and characterized by distinctive odors and a substantial measure of resistance to hydrolysis”.

Origanum essential oil is used as a food additive and also as a fragrance component in cosmetic products. Some studies have also reported the potential of oregano essential oil to preserve food such as salmon and seaweed burgers, fish, and meat products.

Essential oil of oregano and savory showed a good antioxidant capacity, antimicrobial activity against microorganisms and tyrosinase inhibition activity.

The essential oil of oregano contains two main bioactive compounds: carvacrol and thymol.

Phenolic compounds and tocols are very important for the oxidative stability and biological activities of oregano oil. The higher radical scavenging activities of oregano oil compared to olive oils may be due the differences in the level content and profile di unsaponifiable.
Oil of oregano

Oregano: Used as both a culinary and medicinal herb

Oregano is an herb that has been cultivated for centuries in the Mediterranean area, although it now can be found on most continents.

It is a popular cooking ingredient recognized for its wide health promoting and antimicrobial effects.

Oregano is used as both a culinary and medicinal herb. Origanum vulgare is known as oregano, while its cousin Origanum majorana is usually called sweet marjoram.

During the ancient Greek and Roman empires, the leaves were used to treat such maladies as skin sores and relieve aching muscles and as an antiseptic. The name comes from the Greek words “oros,” meaning mountain, and “ganos,” meaning joy.

Oregano also has been used in traditional medicines for such ailments as asthma, cramping, diarrhea, and indigestion.

It helps to settle flatulence. It also stimulates the flow of bile as a role of stimulating diaphoretic, it is often used in the treatments of cold and flu.

It also gives a use in mouth conditioning, as a a mouth wash for the inflammations of mouth and throat. It is a useful promoter of menstruation.

In Greece, an oregano infusion is still used as a folk remedy against colds and upset stomach and to maintain general health.

Oregano is most well-known for imparting an ‘‘Italian taste’’ to Mediterranean cuisine and may be used to enhance the flavors of a variety of foods including baked goods, vegetables, legumes, fish, pizza, pasta sauce, and chilis.
Oregano: Used as both a culinary and medicinal herb

History and origin of oregano

Oregano’s name comes from the Greek word oros ganos, meaning joy of the mountain.

Mediterranean oregano was originally grown extensively in Greece and Italy. Records on the use of oregano date back thousands of years: famous ‘hyssop’, mentioned in the Bible, is believed to be an Origanum syriacum L. plant.

Originally used to flavor ale and beer in Europe, oregano is an essential spice in Italian pizzas, Tex-Mex chili con carne, and Mexican beans. Early brewers used oregano in their beer to disguise off flavors before they discovered hops. 

The ancient Greek and Egyptians used oregano to flavor fish, meats, vegetables and wine. The ancient Roman scholar Pliny recommended oregano poultices for scorpion and spider bites.

As early as the 1400s, oregano had a variety of medicinal, cosmetic and household uses. It was used as a palliative for headache, rheumatism, colic, upset stomach, cough and scurvy.

Before World War II, oregano was almost unknown in the United States. However, its popularity skyrocketed with the popularity of pizza.
History and origin of oregano

What are the health benefits of oregano?

The flavor and fragrance of oregano is inextricably associated with its use in flavoring tomato dishes, primarily of Italian cuisine.

Oregano is rich in a host of nutrients including calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, potassium, copper, boron, manganese, vitamin C and niacin.

The herb also contains fiber, and omegoa-3 fatty acids. The volatile oil in oregano contains thymol and carvacrol two powerful antimicrobial agents.

For centuries, oregano has been used as a folk medicine for everything from respiratory ailments to gastrointestinal complaints for headaches to colds.

The researcher in Mexico found oregano effective treatment against infection by Giardia lamblia, compared to tinidazole.

Studies on the biological activity of oregano show a wide range of antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and antioxidant properties for the essential oil and extracts.

Oregano had forty-two times as much antioxidant activity as apples, thirty times as much as potatoes, twelve times as much as oranges, and four times as much as blueberries.

The active component was rosmarinic acid, which as its name suggest, is also found in rosemary as well as other mints.
What are the health benefits of oregano?