Articles: Oregano oil to protect against dangerous bacteria ....

[Guest guest]

I thought this was interesting since we were talking about oregano and

oregano oil ....

 

http://www.alittleolfactory.com

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/news-NG.asp?n=42018-oregano-oil-to

 

 

Oregano oil to protect against dangerous bacteria

 

 

17/10/2001 -

 

Oil from the common herb oregano may be an effective treatment against

dangerous, and sometimes drug-resistant bacteria, an American researcher

has found.

 

Two studies have shown that oregano oil-and, in particular, carvacrol,

one of oregano's chemical components-appear to reduce infection as

effectively as traditional antibiotics. These findings were presented at

the American College of Nutrition's annual meeting October 6 and 7 in

Orlando, Florida.

 

Harry G. Preuss, professor of physiology and biophysics, and his

research team, tested oregano oil on staphylococcus bacteria, which is

responsible for a variety of severe infections and is becoming

increasingly resistant to many antibiotics.

 

They combined oregano oil with the bacteria in a test tube, and compared

oregano oil's effects to those of standard antibiotics streptomycin,

penicillin and vacnomycin. The oregano oil at relatively low doses was

found to inhibit the growth of staphylococcus bacteria in the test tubes

as effectively as the standard antibiotics did.

 

Another aspect of the study examined the efficacy of oregano oil and

carvacrol, which is believed to be the major antibacterial component of

oregano, in 18 mice infected with the staph bacteria.

 

Six of the mice received oregano oil for 30 days, and 50 per cent of

this group survived the 30-day treatment. Six received the carvacrol in

olive oil, not oregano oil, and none survived longer than 21 days. Six

mice received olive oil alone with no active agents (the control group)

and all died within three days. A repeat study corroborated these

findings, which demonstrates that there are components of oregano oil

other than carvacrol that have antibiotic properties.

 

" While this investigation was performed only in test tubes and on a

small number of mice, the preliminary results are promising and warrant

further study, " Preuss said. " The ability of oils from various spices to

kill infectious organisms has been recognised since antiquity. Natural

oils may turn out to be valuable adjuvants or even replacements for many

anti-germicidals under a variety of conditions. "

 

C 2000/2005- NOVIS

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

 

http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/news-ng.asp?id=47658-oregano-oil-zaps

 

 

Oregano oil zaps free radicals

 

 

17/10/2003 -

 

Manufacturers on the health wagon will welcome the news this week that

food scientists have designed free radical beating crisps.

 

Building on current evidence that antioxidants can help destroy and

eliminate free radicals - potentially harmful to the human body -

researchers investigated the impact of adding an antioxidant-rich

product to oil for frying crisps.

 

 

Dimitra P Houhoula and colleagues from the laboratory of food chemistry

and technology at the university of Athens decided to investigate the

effect of oregano on the 'oxidative stability of cottonseed oil during

frying of potato chips and on the storage stability of the produced

chips'.

 

 

Ground oregano, or an ethanol-derived extract, was added to the oil at a

concentration of 2 g l-1 (dry basis) before frying. The scientists found

that the addition of oregano to frying oil reduced the number of

chemical reactions that produce free radicals, leaving crisps with fewer

free radicals. Not only this, according to their findings, oregano

appears to have had a protective effect during storage, with the crisps

deteriorating (undergoing oxidation) at a significantly slower rate.

 

 

" Oregano has multivariable benefits in frying oils, " said Vasso

Oreopoulou, co-author of the study. " It restricts the deterioration of

dietary essential lipid ingredients and the formation of harmful free

radicals, " he continued, adding that the flavonoids and other

antioxidant components of oregano have antimicrobial, antithrombotic,

antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic benefits within the human body.

 

 

Full <http://www.interscience.wiley.com/jsfa> findings are published in

Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture(Vol 83(14), 2003).

 

C 2000/2005- NOVIS

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/news-NG.asp?n=42751-oregano-tops-list

 

Oregano tops list of healthy herbs

<http://www.foodnavigator.com/img/imgFN/blank.gif>

10/01/2002 - Researchers from the US Department of Agriculture have

found that herbs are an abundant source of antioxidants and could

provide potential anticancer benefits when supplementing a balanced

diet.

 

The research, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food

Chemistry, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society,

showed that herbs have higher antioxidant activity than fruits,

vegetables and some spices, including garlic.

 

" Some herbs should be considered as regular vegetables, " said Shiow Y.

Wang, Ph.D., the study's lead researcher and a biochemist with the

USDA's Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Beltsville, Md.

" People should use more herbs for flavouring instead of salt and

artificial chemicals. "

 

 

Using various chemical tests, Wang studied and compared the antioxidant

activity of 39 commonly used herbs grown in the same location and

conditions. The study, which did not involve animal or human subjects,

included 27 culinary and 12 medicinal herbs.

 

 

The herbs with the highest antioxidant activity belonged to the oregano

family, the research showed. In general, oregano had three to 20 times

higher antioxidant activity than the other herbs studied.

 

 

On a per gram fresh weight basis, oregano and other herbs ranked even

higher in antioxidant activity than fruits and vegetables, which are

known to be high in antioxidants. Oregano has 42 times more antioxidant

activity than apples, 30 times more than potatoes, 12 times more than

oranges and four times more than blueberries, Wang said.

 

 

Other herbs were also found to be high in antioxidants, including dill,

garden thyme, rosemary and peppermint.

 

 

The most active phenol component in some of the herbs with the highest

antioxidant activity, particularly oregano, was rosmarinic acid, a

strong antioxidant.

 

 

Antioxidants are a class of compounds thought to prevent certain types

of chemical damage caused by an excess of free radicals, charged

molecules that are generated by a variety of sources including

pesticides, smoking and exhaust fumes. Destroying free radicals may help

fight cancer, heart disease and stroke, researchers believe.

 

 

Fruits and vegetables have long been viewed as a rich source of

antioxidant compounds. Health officials have been urging consumers for

years to eat more fruits and vegetables in order to gain the health

benefits of antioxidants, but progress has been slow, according to

researchers. Westerners still tend to favour diets that are rich in fats

and carbohydrates, they say.

 

 

More recently, researchers have begun to formally study the health

benefits of herbs and spices. The two differ mainly by source. Herbs

typically come from the leaves of plants. Spices come from the bark,

stem and seeds of plants. Both have been used for thousands of years to

flavour foods and treat illness.

 

 

In general, fresh herbs and spices are healthier and contain higher

antioxidant levels compared to their processed counterparts, according

to Wang. For example, the antioxidant activity of fresh garlic is 1.5

times higher than dry garlic powder.

 

 

Just as consuming too much of any food product can carry health risks,

herbs should be used with moderation, Wang cautioned. Herbs are no

substitute for a balanced diet, she added, and pregnant women in

particular should consult their physicians before taking herbal

supplements.

 

C 2000/2005- NOVIS