Oregano Oil May Protect Against Drug-Resistant Bacteria
3rd May 2007 by Rett Anderson Posted in Disease, Infections
Oregano Oil May Protect Against Drug-Resistant Bacteria, Georgetown Researcher Finds
A Georgetown University research professor and his team include here a comparison of oregano oil to carvacrol which is the main ingredient in oregano oil, extracted. The intact oregano oil did better as an antibacterial agent than the carvacrol by itself. (Conventional medical researchers try to extract compounds and alter them so they can patent them.)
(Washington, DC) Oil from the common herb oregano may be an effective treatment against dangerous, and sometimes drug-resistant bacteria, a Georgetown researcher has found. Two studies have shown that oregano oil and, in particular, carvacrol, one of oregano’s chemical components appear to reduce infection as effectively as traditional antibiotics. These findings were presented at the American College of Nutrition’s annual meeting October 6 and 7 in Orlando, Fla.
Harry G. Preuss, MD, MACN, CNS, professor of physiology and biophysics, and his research team, tested oregano oil on staphylococcus bacteria which is responsible for a variety of severe infections and is becoming increasingly resistant to many antibiotics. They combined oregano oil with the bacteria in a test tube, and compared oregano oil’s effects to those of standard antibiotics streptomycin, penicillin and vacnomycin. The oregano oil at relatively low doses was found to inhibit the growth of staphylococcus bacteria in the test tubes as effectively as the standard antibiotics did.
Another aspect of the study examined the efficacy of oregano oil carvacrol, which is believed to be the major antibacterial component of oregano. ŠŠŠ.Preuss said. “The ability of oils from various spices to kill infectious organisms has been recognized since antiquity. Natural oils may turn out to be valuable adjuvants or even replacements for many anti-germicidals under a variety of conditions.”
Source: Georgetown University Medical Center, October 11, 2001 Georgetown University Medical Center includes the nationally ranked School of Medicine, School of Nursing and Health Studies, and a biomedical research enterprise.
Retrieved from here March 15, 2007