Oregano Oil & Hepatitis C

Oregano may be indispensable in your kitchen, but it has limited use in your medicine cabinet. There is no scientific evidence suggesting that it has any benefit in preventing or treating hepatitis C or any other viral or bacterial disease in humans. Hepatitis C is a serious disease that should be treated with conventional medicine.

Oregano Oil

Almost all of the research on oregano oil involves the meat, fish and poultry industry. A few research papers, such as one appearing in the January-February 2010 "Food Science," suggests that it may limit the growth of bacteria in food products by making the bacteria more susceptible to the lethal effect of heat. Another study appearing in the March 2011 "Chemical Biodiversity" suggests that oregano oil may have a modest effect in killing methicillin-resistant organisms. These preliminary results should not be taken out of context since they require replication. None of the research speaks to using oregano oil clinically.

Legal Issues

The Federal Trade Commission successfully sued various alternative practitioners for deceptive practices because they claimed that wild oregano oil helps "address cough,
fever, chills, fatigue, congestion, sore throat, muscle aches and more" and that it has "incredible anti-viral, antibacterial and anti-fungal effects." The court found that there is nothing in scientific literature that supports such claims.

Hepatitis C

Before 1989, doctors recognized the existence of a liver disease very similar to hepatitis. Since patients did not test positive for hepatitis A or B viruses, they called the disease non-A, non-B hepatitis. In 1989, the virus that produced this disease was identified and named hepatitis C, or HCV. The virus can produce liver cancer and cirrhosis.

Treatment

Treating hepatitis C has improved since the disease was first discovered. Treatment is merited if the patient is symptomatic. Doctors use the anti-viral drug, ribavirin, and the immunomodulator pegylated interferon in combination to treat hepatitis C. Treatment takes approximately one year. Although the primary goal of treatment is elimination of the virus, a secondary goal is to heal the liver. Doctors are cautious about treating patients who have psychological issues, because interferon can aggravate depression.