Health Benefits from Oil of Oregano’s Ingredients

Oregano Plant

Why would you want to use Oil of Oregano? The oregano plant is an herb that’s been a staple in Mediterranean culture for hundreds of years and it was used by the Ancient Greeks for medicinal and cooking purposes.

The health benefits of Oil of Oregano’s ingredients are due to a unique mixture of compounds found only in oregano oil. The ingredients are Volatile Oils, Terpenes, Rosmarinic acid, Naringin and Tocopherols.

These active ingredients in Oil of Oregano can provide the following health benefits:

• It’s a broad-spectrum antibiotic
• Helps fight fungal infections
• Kills parasites
• Has antiviral properties
• Prevents free radical damage to your cells
• It’s a natural antihistamine
• Could help lower cholesterol levels
• May inhibit cancer cell growth

Health Benefits of Oil of Oregano’s Ingredients

The 5 main ingredients found in Oil of Oregano are Volatile Oils, Terpenes, Rosmarinic Acid, Naringin and Tocopherols.  Here’s a more detailed look at each specific ingredient and their reported effects and health benefits.

1. Volatile Oils:

Oil of Oregano contains two volatile oils called Carvacrol and Thymol. These are the main ingredients responsible for its antimicrobial actions.

• Carvacrol – this volatile oil was proven in studies to be a powerful antimicrobial and food preservative. Research shows it’s effective against bacteria such as :

  • Escherichia coli

  • Salmonella enterica

  • Listeria monocytogenes

  Carvacrol also works as an antifungal. A recent study proved you could use carvacrol to eliminate parasitic infections.

• Thymol – Thymol has antiseptic properties and is also a natural fungicide. Did you know thymol is one of the active ingredients in Listerine mouthwash? This may explain why Listerine is so effective at killing germs and reducing plaque.

2. Terpenes:

What are terpenes? Terpenes are the main ingredients found in the essential oils of many plants and flowers. Terpenes usually have a strong pine-smelling odor and they actually have antibacterial properties.

The name, terpene, originates from the word ‘turpentine’. You’ve probably used turpentine as a solvent for stripping off old paint, but this particular ingredient plays a more healthier role in Oil of Oregano. Tea tree oil is another natural oil that contains a terpene called terpinen 4 OL. Terpinen 4 OL is the active ingredient that can help you use tea tree oil for acne.

3. Rosmarinic acid:

Rosmarinic acid is an antioxidant and antihistamine. It’s been shown to prevent free radical cell damage, which may help lower your risk for atherosclerosis and cancer.

Interestingly, a recent study showed plants rich in Rosmarinic acid can be an effective treatment for allergic asthma. It turns out that researchers discovered Rosmarinic acid reduces fluid buildup and swelling during an allergy attack which makes it an effective natural antihistamine.

After learning about this, I recently tried using Oil of Oregano to reduce my hay fever symptoms of itchy eyes and sneezing. I placed a few drops of Oil of Oregano under my tongue as soon as I started to feel my hay fever coming on. It may have been a placebo effect, but I did find the Oil of Oregano seemed to reduce my hay fever symptoms in about an hour with less sneezing and watery eyes and I didn’t experience any drowsiness that I’d occasionally experience from using my usual over-the-counter antihistamine.

4. Naringin:

 

What’s Naringin? Naringin is a plant compound classified as flavonoids. Naringin has been shown to inhibit cancer cells from growing and was proven to be an effective antioxidant.

Naringin is also found in grapefruits, which gives them that bitter taste. Naringin has been found to increase the bio-availability of nutrients by reducing the enzyme activity in your digestive tract. This is why some people are advised to watch their grapefruit intake when taking certain medications because the naringin in grapefruit could cause your body to absorb more medication than it normally does leading to a possible over dose of medication in your system. So if you want your body to absorb food or certain nutrients more effectively, you could try using Oil of Oregano, or including more grapefruits in your diet.

5. Tocopherols:

The most well known tocopherol is good ol’ vitamin E, which is a powerful antioxidant. Tocopherols have been found to reduce your risk for cataracts, cancer and heart disease. They can also help in the formation of red blood cells and also help your body use Vitamin K, an important vitamin for helping form blood clots.

And last, but now least, other Oil of Oregano’s ingredients include calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, potassium, copper, boron, and manganese. You’ll also get a dose of vitamins C and A (beta carotene) and niacin.

So as you can see, Oil of Oregano’s ingredients can provide you with a number of health benefits. And I also believe that this unique combination of complex compounds may also explain why you can use Oil of Oregano to address so many different conditions.

I found Oil of Oregano works really well for helping relieve my cold and flu symptoms, particularly bronchitis. I think you could also use Oil of Oregano ingredients to try and reduce symptoms of yeast infections, acne, canker sores, gum disease, foot and nail fungus and more.

For more detailed information on using oregano oil, see my page, 12 Uses of Oil of Oregano. You’ll find a number of interesting ways to use this Oil of Oregano’s ingredients for better health and wellness.

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