Oregano is a fragrant herb growing in mountainous Mediterranean regions. It’s well-known for its use in Italian, Greek and Spanish cooking, but it doesn’t just taste good. Historically, oregano has been used as a herbal medicine for indigestion and as an antiseptic. Nowadays, it’s used as a natural antibiotic and an antifungal.¹ It’s also a good source of vitamin K – needed for blood-clotting and strong bones. A teaspoon of oregano contains 8% of your recommended daily amount of vitamin K.² Oregano is available as a fresh or dried herb, or in capsules. It can also be used as a highly concentrated essential oil, so remember to dilute it first.

Benefits of oregano

What does oregano do in the body?

The main active ingredients in oregano are two powerful antioxidants:³

carvacrol
thymol

Antioxidants help prevent free radicals from causing oxidative damage to our cells, which is linked to conditions such as heart disease and dementia. Oregano may also be an effective:

antifungal – in 2007, Japanese researchers tested the effectiveness of 11 different essential oils against the fungi that cause athlete’s foot, and oregano was found to be the most successful,⁴ while a 2001 study by the Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, reported that oregano oil inhibited the growth of C. albicans – the fungal yeast that can trigger thrush – by up to 75%⁵
antibacterial – a 2009 study by the University of Karachi in Pakistan pitted oregano oil against 23 different types of bacteria, including staphylococcus saprophyticus, and oregano ‘won’⁶
antiviral – according to a laboratory study in the Journal of Applied Microbiology in 2014, carvacrol inactivated the norovirus – the winter vomiting bug within an hour,⁷ while a Taiwanese study in Planta Medica in 2012 found that a combination of thymol and carvacrol could disable the herpes simplex type 1 virus that causes cold sores by 90% in the same time⁸
antiseptic – in 2011, Israeli researchers discovered that a spray containing oregano oil significantly improved the symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections, such as sore throat, hoarseness and coughing, in 60 patients within 20 minutes⁹

Scientists believe that oregano has these properties because both carvacrol and thymol can attack the membrane of a bacteria cell, leading to its destruction.¹⁰

Dosage

How much oregano is safe to take?

No safe upper limit has been established for oregano, so make sure you stick to any guidelines on packaging, leaflets or bottles of oregano essential oil. However, it is not safe for women who are pregnant or breast-feeding. Children over 12 can take it, but seek advice from a qualified medical herbalist for younger children. If you are allergic to plants in the Lamiaceae family, like lavender, mint, sage and basil, avoid taking or using oregano.¹¹

Side-effects

What are the side-effects of taking oregano?

The normal amount of fresh or dried oregano you use in food is unlikely to cause any side-effects. But you need to be more cautious when using oregano oil – its high concentration means a larger amount of active ingredients, in particular thymol, which can cause irritation at high doses.¹² Side-effects of taking or using oregano can include:¹³