Health Benefits Of Oregano And Oregano Oil
Oregano is a herb, that can be cold pressed into an oil, containing various plant phytochemicals that are thought to have health benefits in the body. There are several potent antioxidants in oregano that contribute to its potential health benefits. This herb produces lots of leaves that are rich in these bioactive compounds and these can be used to cook with.
Oregano is a really flexible herb to cook with. It is a great herb for people who are learning how to cook with herbs to start with as well. You can learn a lot about cooking flavors with oregano. It has an amazing scent to it and oregano can add extra complexity to most dishes.
The ancients used oregano leaves to treat skin sores, as an antiseptic and to relieve aching muscles too. Oregano has always been a very popular herb in many cultures. Oregano extracts are still used today as an alternative medicine for illnesses such as colds and stomach upsets. They have also been used to treat headaches. Some of the researched effects that oregano may have on the body include antimicrobial properties, anti-inflammatory action and benefits to heart health.
These effects are thought to be attributed to the oxidant flavonoids and plant phenolics in oregano leaves. The long-term consumption of plant flavonoids and phenolics, as found in certain plant extracts, is associated with a reduction in risk of developing chronic diseases. This suggests that oregano is a health protecting and disease preventative food. Let’s look at some of the health benefits of oregano and oregano oil in more detail.
Potential Health Benefits From Oregano Leaf Phenols
Oregano is rich in plant phytochemicals. These are compounds made by plants and many of them have potential health benefits in the body. Many of these compounds help the plant with its own immune defence. Phenolic compounds in particular help the plant or herb survive and adapt to changing environmental circumstances.
When you consume fresh leaves of oregano from the oregano herb, you are also consuming the phytochemicals from the leaves too. This is why plant essential oils, or oil extracts are popular. They contain a rich concentration of plant phytochemicals from the herb. These are usually only for topical use, but some food or edible herbal oils can of course be consumed. The leaves of the oregano herb can of course be consumed.
Antioxidant Effects
Flavonoids and phenolics, such as those present in oregano, are well studied for their antioxidant effects. In oregano leaves the most abundant phenols, including flavonoids and phenolics, are rosmarinic acid, apigenin and quercetin. The antioxidant effects of phenol compounds, such as flavonoids, are mostly due to their inner chemical structure. This is also how they get their anti-inflammatory properties and differences in structure have more anti-inflammatory action than others. For example, rosmarinic acid seems to have a higher antioxidant activity compared to other phenols. This is thought to be because of its ability to form a quinone-like structure.
Antioxidants are really important to human health. They preserve the cells of the body from external damage, such as inflammation or inflammatory chemicals and high energy radiation. For example, high energy matter from the sun can damage DNA within cells in the skin. This can cause cancer through DNA mutations or damaging cell structure changes. The role of antioxidants is a defensive one, to absorb the damaging aspect of the radiation or inflammation.
Because of this antioxidant capacity, they have anti-cancer potential as described here in the prevention of sun induced cancer. Because of the strong antioxidant effects observed with oregano extracts, various studies consider that oregano oils may have cancer preventative effects.
The antioxidant effects of oregano extracts may also be of benefit to gut health. Gut inflammation is frequent health complaint. The antioxidants within oregano may be able to assist with this. Oregano oil was observed to be able to prevent colonic damage, while supressing inflammatory responses.
Neuroprotective Abilities Of Oregano
Because of their antioxidant properties, the phenols in oregano leaves and extracts might also be able to protect neurones or nerve cells from damage. Higher levels of oxidative stress lead to an increased risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s. This neuroprotective effect is another potential benefit of oregano. Oregano may be able to protect the body from the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
The flavonoid apigenin, found in high quantities in oregano oil, is thought to have the potential to positively influence Alzheimer’s. This is because of its antioxidant effects. One phenolic, known as thymol, has been shown to have one of the best radical neutralizing abilities within oregano extracts.
Similarly, another phenolic, known as carvacrol also has very strong antioxidant powers within oregano leaves. As we’ve mentioned you can eat leaves from this herb as part of your meal, you can even grow and water oregano very easily in your kitchen.
Oregano And Inflammatory Diseases
Some plant phenols found within oregano extract are also thought to be able to reduce the incidence of heart diseases. This is attributed to their anti-inflammatory abilities and ability to reduce atherosclerosis. Oregano oil has been shown to reduce levels of bad cholesterol, while they may also cause the blood vessels to dilate and this is beneficial for heart health.
In addition, the anti-inflammatory actions of flavonoids from oregano oils and extracts suggest they could assist with reducing arthritis and other inflammatory joint diseases.
We’ve mentioned carvacrol and thymol, these were measured to greatly reduce levels of inflammatory free radicals. Both of these phenolics could have strong anti-inflammatory effects in the body that can help with inflammatory diseases.
Antimicrobial Effects Of Oregano Essential Oil
Oregano oil is under close examination for its ability to be used as an additive in the food industry. This is because of its effects on food preservation, not just as an antioxidant but also as antimicrobial. It could be used in the food industry as a preservative in the future.
Oregano essential oils and extracts rich in oregano phenols are thought to be anti-microorganismal meaning they can restrict the growth of microbes, fungi and viruses. They are well recognized for these health benefits too by researchers.
Of all the phenolics in oregano, carvacrol was seen to exhibit high and very direct antiviral activity. Carvacrol may actually also be a strong de-worming compound as carvacrol from oregano was seen to have anti-worm effects in sheep.
Rosmarinic acid has also been observed to have antimicrobial and antiviral activity. Rosmarinic acid also has anti-biofilm activities, which means that this oregano polyphenol could also prevent fungal growth. This is confirmed against 11 Candida strains including Candida albicans.
Summary
Oregano is a versatile herb that is great to use in many meals. The leaves of oregano are rich in bioactive compounds or plant phytochemicals that have reported potential health benefits. Some of these compounds include flavonoids and plant phenolics. Some of these compounds are very powerful antioxidants. The long-term consumption of plant flavonoids and phenolics is associated with reduced risk of developing chronic diseases.
Ancient cultures and alternative medicinal practices have used oregano for various ailments including skin sores, colds and stomach upsets. This may be because of the strong antioxidant capacity of oregano. The leaves of oregano can be cold pressed into an oil. This can also be used topically. Oregano and oregano oil is also considered to be a potent natural anti-microorganismal. It can inhibit viral, fungal and bacterial growth.
Many of the health benefits of consuming oregano extracts are focused around its antioxidant abilities. They are thought to be able to reduce inflammation in the body, reduce risk of cancer and offer neuroprotective effects. The anti-inflammatory abilities of oregano are thought to encourage a reduced risk of heart diseases.
As antioxidants, the phenols in oregano leaves may also have a neuroprotective effect. They might also reduce the risk of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Two strong phenolic antioxidants identified in oregano are known as carvacrol and thymol. Because of their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, oregano extracts may also have joint preserving properties.
Other compounds like rosmarinic acid and apigenin also have potential health effects as antioxidants. While rosmarinic acid might be able to inhibit the growth of various Candida fungi.
We’ve shown here that oregano is a really flexible herb, convenient to grow and use, with many potential health benefits.
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