Medicinal Uses for Wild Oregano

Using plants and plant-based products as medicine may seem strange in this age of high-tech drugs, but originally most medicines came from plants. Wild Oregano oil has long been known to have many medicinal properties, several of which have been confirmed in recent research studies.

What is Wild Oregano Oil?

• A natural substance, wild oregano oil is extracted from the plant Origanum Vulgare. This is a different herb than Origanum Marjoram, the type of oregano commonly used in cooking. The latter does not have the same medicinal properties as Origanum Vulgare, which contains over 130 medically and nutritionally active compounds.

Why is Wild Oregano Oil Medicinal?

• Wild Oregano oil contains several compounds known to have medicinal properties. These are antioxidant, anti-bacterial and antiseptic phenols (carvacrol and thymol); antiseptic and anti-viral fatty alcohols; antiseptic, antiviral, anti-Inflammatory and anaesthetic terpenes; and the anti fungal and sedative fatty esters. Of these constituents, the phenols, carvacrol and thymol are thought to be the most important, with the others playing a supporting role.

What Conditions Are Helped by Wild Oregano Oil?

• As an anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal agent, Wild Oregano oil can be used against almost any infections caused by these organisms. These include viral infections like the common cold and flu; food-borne bacterial infections, infections in the bladder and the respiratory tract, and fungal infections like athletes foot, toe-nail fungus, skin infections and Candida. It can also be used to expel internal parasites. The oil also helps external conditions such as shingles, herpes, warts and boils, oral infections, pain from headaches, inflammation and arthritis. In bacterial infections, Wild Oregano oil has an advantage over antibiotics in that bacteria do not become resistant to it.

Nutritional Advantages

• Wild Oregano oil contains contain several important minerals including, zinc, iron, potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper, boron and manganese. It also contains Vitamins C and A (beta carotene) and niacin. It is rich in anti-oxidants, having 42 times the antioxidant activity of an apple, and so prevents the free radical damage that leads to aging and disease.

Precautions

• First, ensure that the oil is from origanum vulgare, as oil from other sources may be harmful if taken internally. Be aware that although Wild Oregano oil sold for medicinal purposes is generally diluted with coconut or olive oil, it may still be too strong to be safely taken internally, or applied externally. Generally, it should be further diluted, either with one drop of Oregano oil to one teaspoon of olive or coconut oil or by adding one or two drops to a glass of water for internal use.

Who Should Not Use Wild Oil of Oregano?

• Pregnant women, nursing mothers, and people on blood-thinners should not use oil of oregano. People with allergies to thyme, basil, mint, sage, lavender, rosemary or other plants from the lamiaceae family should use it with caution.