Strong Carvacrol activity in Oregano and Thyme

Carvacrol is a phenolic monoterpenoid found in Honest & Pure Wild Oregano (Origanum Compactum) essential oil. It’s also found in our organic Thyme essential oil (Thyme Thymol).

Carvacrol possesses a wide range of bioactivities that are useful for clinical applications such antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer activities. 

Carvacrol antimicrobial activity is higher than that of other volatile compounds present in essential oils due to the presence of the free hydroxyl group, hydrophobicity, and the phenol components. 

In the present study, the antivirulence efficacy of carvacrol against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is explored. MRSA is a pathogen that is capable of causing various superficial and systemic infections in humans. Carvacrol at 75 μg/mL inhibited MRSA biofilm by 93% and microscopic analyses revealed the reduction in microcolony formation and collapsed structure of biofilm upon carvacrol treatment.

Inhibition of biofilm and staphyloxanthin by carvacrol enhanced the susceptibility of MRSA to oxidants and healthy human blood. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis unveiled the downregulation of sarA-mediated biofilm gene expression and staphyloxanthin-associated crtM gene expression. The sarA-dependent antibiofilm potential of carvacrol was validated using S. aureus Newman wild-type and isogenic ΔsarA strains. In silico molecular docking analysis showed the high binding efficacy of carvacrol with staphylococcal accessory regulator A (SarA) and 4,4'-diapophytoene synthase (CrtM) when compared to positive controls. 

Honest & Pure Wild Oregano may have:

strong antifungal activity

strong antifungal activity with potential in treatment of vaginal candidiasis

antidepressant activity

antibacterial activity

antioxidant activity

analgesic activity

anxiolytic-like activity

anti-inflammatory activity

anticarcinogenic activity

hypotensive activity (lowers blood pressure)

airborne antimicrobial activity 

antinociceptive activity (the action or process of blocking the detection of a painful or injurious stimulus by sensory neurons)

Wild Oregano and Thyme essential oil are very potent and must be used with caution:

• for topical application use high dilution
• as a dietary supplement take 3-7 drops with carrier oil in a vegetable capsule (please consult with Aromatherapy Practitioner and/or your doctor)

Written by Lena Isayev, B.A., C.A.

Resources: National Library of Medicine

The School of Aromatic Studies