YahGarden

Herb library · Spice · Origanum majorana

Marjoram

Sweet marjoram, a close relative of oregano used in cooking and as a tea. A few small pilot trials of marjoram tea exist, in women with polycystic ovary syndrome and in people with Parkinson's disease; none is large enough to settle anything.

Traditional use

A garden herb of Europe, the Middle East and India. Culpeper's herbal (here in its 1814 printing) calls it warming and comforting in cold diseases of the head and stomach, and says it was much used in perfumed waters and powders. In Jordan, marjoram is locally reputed to restore hormonal balance and regulate the menstrual cycle; in India it is grown in pots and gardens and used in cooking. Ainslie's 1826 Materia Indica, written in South India, records that the flower was a favorite of Hindus for its scent and that Hindu doctors held it to act on the head.

Traditional energetics

What studies show

  • Limited

    Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): in a 2016 pilot trial, 25 women drank marjoram tea or a placebo tea twice a day for a month. DHEA-S (an adrenal hormone) fell more with marjoram, and insulin sensitivity improved compared with placebo; the authors say more research is needed to confirm it.

  • Limited

    Parkinson's disease: in a 2021 pilot trial, 60 people kept their usual medicines and added marjoram tea or placebo for 30 days. Movement scores did not change significantly; scores for non-movement symptoms and depression improved with marjoram. The authors call for larger, longer studies.

  • Insufficient

    Stress and anxiety: in a 2023 trial, 57 intensive-care nurses inhaled marjoram oil or almond oil at work. Anxiety scores did not differ between the two groups, though they fell within the marjoram group.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • AllergyMarjoram belongs to the mint family (Lamiaceae). Allergy doctors report cross-reactions within this family, so people allergic to oregano, thyme, sage or mint may react to marjoram.
  • NoteIn the inhaled-oil trial, heart rate rose slightly in the marjoram group, though it stayed in the normal range. No side effects were reported in the Parkinson's tea trial.
  • AmountThe trials used teas and oils for about a month; nothing here tells you about long-term use of concentrated preparations. Cooking amounts are a different matter from these.
  • PregnancyNo safety information for medicinal amounts in pregnancy or breastfeeding was found in the sources used here. Talk with your clinician before taking more than cooking amounts.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.

From the old books

What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.

“The flower, from its agreeable odour, is a favourite of the Hindoos, and is considered by their doctors as possessing cephalic qualities;”
Whitelaw Ainslie, Materia Indica (1826), vol. 1, p. 213. See the page of Materia Indica, vol. 1, p. 213 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Materia Indica, vol. 1, p. 213
“Sweet Marjoram is so well known, being an inhabitant in every garden, that it is needless to write any description thereof”
Nicholas Culpeper, Culpeper's Complete Herbal (1814), p. 113. See the page of Culpeper's Complete Herbal, p. 113 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Culpeper's Complete Herbal, p. 113
“Marjoram is cultivated as a pot-plant in most Indian gardens, and is used as a substitute for thyme in cookery.”
William Dymock, C. J. H. Warden and David Hooper, Pharmacographia Indica (1890), vol. 3, p. 109. See the page of Pharmacographia Indica, vol. 3, p. 109 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Pharmacographia Indica, vol. 3, p. 109

Sources

  1. The effect of marjoram (Origanum majorana) tea on the hormonal profile of women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomised controlled pilot study (J Hum Nutr Diet, 2016) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. The effect of Origanum majorana tea on motor and non-motor symptoms in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease: a randomized controlled pilot study (Parkinsonism Relat Disord, 2021) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. Inhalation of Origanum majorana L. essential oil while working reduces perceived stress and anxiety levels of nurses in a COVID-19 intensive care unit: a randomized controlled trial (Front Psychiatry, 2023) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  4. Labiatae allergy: systemic reactions due to ingestion of oregano and thyme (Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol, 1996) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.