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Does Oil of Oregano Destroy Healthy Bacteria Probiotics?

Jun 14, 2011 | By Jan Millehan
Does Oil of Oregano Destroy Healthy Bacteria Probiotics?
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Oregano oil acts as a natural antibiotic in the body, which means it may destroy your friendly, probiotic bacteria, along with any harmful bacteria. However, this essential oil is thought to provide a multitude of benefits, including antibacterial and antifungal properties, according to the Mayo Clinic. Though believed to provide many health benefits, you should consult your doctor before using oil of oregano to treat any condition.

History

Oil of oregano, an essential oil derived from the leaves of the Mediterranean shrub oregano vulgares, has been used medicinally for thousands of years by ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians, according to the website Nutritional Supplements. First grown in the Middle East, it was introduced to the Europeans during the Middle Ages. Oregano grows abundantly in the Grecian mountains, hence its Grecian name oros ganos, or joy of the mountains.

Components

Essential oil of oregano contains many beneficial components, such as the two powerful phenols or plant compounds thymol and carvacrol, which may help a variety of infections. In fact, carvacrol is thought by some investigators to be as effective as any traditional antibiotic. The website Wild Oil of Oregano reports that the amounts of carvacrol in oil of oregano can vary from 30 to 87 percent, depending on the quality of the oil, with the best oregano oils containing 62 to 85 percent carvacrol.

Antibiotics

An antibiotic is a medication that destroys or inhibits bacteria and fungi. Although vital for some infections, the overuse of antibiotics is said to lead to resistant-bacterial strains. Moreover, there is a 1 in 4,000 chance that an antibiotic will help your acute upper-respiratory tract infection, reports Cleveland Clinic. Fortunately, oil of oregano is an antibiotic-like substance that can treat numerous types of infections---even viral infections---without creating a resistance to further use, according to an October 11, 2001 report on the ScienceDaily website.

Probiotics

Probiotics from foods and supplements are microorganisms similar to the naturally occurring friendly bacteria in your gut, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, or NCCAM. Taking antibiotics can significantly decease amounts of probiotic-bacteria while destroying the harmful microorganisms in your body and result in a weakened immune system, reports the NCCAM. Probiotics, obtained through eating various probiotic-containing foods such as yogurt as well as probiotic supplements, are thought to restore your system's friendly bacteria.

Benefits

Oil of oregano is thought to help stop the growth of numerous disease-causing bacteria. A study published in the 2007 edition of the "Journal of Medical Microbiology," states that the components of oil of oregano are well-known for their ability to fight a wide-range of microbes as well as for their many anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-tumor effects. Antonio Nostro and his team observed the effects of oregano oil components, carvacrol and thymol on staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcus epidermis bacteria and discovered that each component exhibited significant bacterial inhibition. Additional research, published in the 2007 edition of the "Pakistan Journal of Botany" by Nazia Masood Ahmed Chaudhry and others, concluded that oregano oil is a significant inhibitor of citrobacter, salmonella, typhi and even escherichia coli bacteria.

References

Article reviewed by TheronN Last updated on: Jun 14, 2011

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