Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019;3(4):43-52.
doi: 10.14302/issn.2379-7835.ijn-19-2703. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Oregano (Origanum vulgare) extract for food preservation and improvement in gastrointestinal health

Jacob P Veenstra  1 , Jeremy J Johnson  1
Affiliations

Oregano (Origanum vulgare) extract for food preservation and improvement in gastrointestinal health

Jacob P Veenstra et al. Int J Nutr. 2019.

Abstract

The Mediterranean diet has long been known to provide a variety of health benefits such as cardiovascular protection, cancer prevention, and lowering gastrointestinal inflammation. Oregano (Origanum vulgare) is an herb prominent in the Mediterranean diet, and has been shown to possess several bioactive properties including anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic properties. The anti-oxidant and anti-microbial properties of oregano also make it a strong candidate as a natural food preservative. Because of the recent public concern with synthetic food preservatives, natural alternatives are increasingly being evaluated for effective food preservation. Oregano extract (OE) and essential oil (OEO) are two such agents that have shown promise as natural food preservatives. Additionally, oregano is being evaluated for its positive effect on gastrointestinal health, suggesting an additional benefit of food preservation with oregano. This review will describe in vitro studies related to the anti-microbial and anti-oxidant properties of oregano along with food preservation studies with oregano in various model food matrices. The major phytochemical content reported for OE and OEO will also be outlined to highlight the importance of characterizing the extract that is used, since the extraction process can have a significant effect on the phytochemicals therein. Finally, in vivo studies that investigate the gastrointestinal health benefits of oregano, specifically against inflammation, will be addressed to show the impact of oregano on gastrointestinal health.

Keywords: Origanum vulgare; anti-microbial; anti-oxidant; carvacrol; food preservative; oregano; phytochemical; thymol.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest The authors do not declare any conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Several compounds found in OE or OEO that have been reported in the literature
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gutierrez-Grijalva EP, Picos-Salas MA, Leyva-Lopez N, Criollo-Mendoza MS, Vazquez-Olivo G, Heredia JB. Flavonoids and Phenolic Acids from Oregano: Occurrence, Biological Activity and Health Benefits. Plants (Basel, Switzerland). 2017;7(1). doi: 10.3390/plants7010002. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Morshedloo MR, Craker LE, Salami A, Nazeri V, Sang H, Maggi F. Effect of prolonged water stress on essential oil content, compositions and gene expression patterns of mono- and sesquiterpene synthesis in two oregano (Origanum vulgare L.) subspecies. Plant physiology and biochemistry : PPB. 2017;111:119–28. doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2016.11.023. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Han F, Ma GQ, Yang M, Yan L, Xiong W, Shu JC, et al. Chemical composition and antioxidant activities of essential oils from different parts of the oregano. Journal of Zhejiang University Science B. 2017;18(1):79–84. doi: 10.1631/jzus.B1600377. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Vujicic M, Nikolic I, Kontogianni VG, Saksida T, Charisiadis P, Vasic B, et al. Ethyl Acetate Extract of Origanum vulgare L. ssp. hirtum Prevents Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes in C57BL/6 Mice. Journal of food science. 2016;81(7):H1846–53. doi: 10.1111/1750-3841.13333. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mastro G, Tarraf W, Verdini L, Brunetti G, Ruta C. Essential oil diversity of Origanum vulgare L. populations from Southern Italy. Food chemistry. 2017;235:1–6. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2017.05.019. - DOI - PubMed