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Herb library · Spice · Origanum vulgare

Oregano

A kitchen herb, also sold as concentrated oil of oregano. Research in people is thin: one small trial of an oregano ointment on surgical wounds, one uncontrolled study of the oil for gut parasites, and case reports of allergy, skin irritation and a blood-thinner interaction.

Traditional use

Wild marjoram, or origany, was an old European remedy for the stomach and for coughs; Culpeper's herbal (here in its 1814 printing) also mentions it for venomous bites. In North Africa oregano tea is still taken for joint pain, breathing complaints and digestion. Today oil of oregano is sold as a supplement, and oregano extracts have been tested on the skin.

Traditional energetics

What studies show

  • Limited

    Surgical wounds: in a 2011 trial, 40 people put a 3% oregano extract ointment or plain petrolatum on their wounds after skin surgery. Fewer wounds in the oregano group grew Staphylococcus aureus on day 12, and overall scar appearance was similar. It is one small study.

  • Insufficient

    Gut parasites: a 2000 report followed 14 adults given 600 mg of emulsified oil of oregano daily for 6 weeks; the parasites disappeared in some. There was no comparison group, so it cannot show the oil was the reason.

  • Insufficient

    Infections, inflammation and other uses: most of the research on oregano and its oil is in the lab or in farm animals, not in people.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • AllergyOregano can cause allergic reactions, including repeated whole-body reactions after eating it, and angioedema (deep swelling) in a 13-year-old after food seasoned with Turkish oregano. People allergic to one mint-family herb (thyme, sage, mint) may react to others.
  • InteractionA 2025 case report describes a woman on the blood thinner acenocoumarol whose INR (a clotting test) more than doubled after she started drinking oregano tea daily. If you take a blood thinner, tell your clinician before taking oregano as a tea or supplement.
  • NoteOil of oregano is concentrated; a case report describes irritant skin inflammation after it was put on the skin as a home remedy.
  • AmountThe reports above involve teas, supplements and oils, not oregano sprinkled on food. No safe dose for the concentrated oil has been set in the sources used here.
  • 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.

“Wild or field Marjoram hath a root which creeps much under ground, which continues a long time, sending up sundry-brownish, hard, square stalks, with small dark green leaves, very like those of Sweet Marjoram, but harder, and somewhat broader”
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

Sources

  1. Oregano extract ointment for wound healing: a randomized, double-blind, petrolatum-controlled study evaluating efficacy (J Drugs Dermatol, 2011) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. Inhibition of enteric parasites by emulsified oil of oregano in vivo (Phytother Res, 2000) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. Origanum vulgare and hemorrhagic risk, about a case (Ann Cardiol Angeiol, 2025) — 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
  5. Angioedema due to Lamiaceae allergy (Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol, 2018) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  6. Irritant contact dermatitis after a curious therapeutic use of oregano essential oil (Contact Dermatitis, 2020) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.