Oregano

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Oregano

Oregano (IPA: ?'reg?no?, British English: ?r?'g?:n??) or (Origanum vulgare) is a species of Origanum
Origanum

Origanum is a genus of about 20 species of aromatic herbs in the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean region east to eastern Asia. The genus includes some important culinary herbs, including Marjoram and Oregano....
, native to Europe

Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, the Mediterranean region and southern and central Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
. It is a perennial

Perennial plant

A perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants....
herb

Herb

A herb is a plant that is valued for qualities such as medicinal properties, flavor, scent, or the like....
, growing to 20-80 cm tall, with opposite leaves

Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
1-4 cm long. The flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s are purple, 3-4 mm long, produced in erect spikes. Oregano is the anglicized

Anglicisation

Anglicisation or anglicization is a process of conversion of verbal or written elements of any other language into a more comprehensible English language for an English speaker....
form of the Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
word origano, which is also a derivation from the Greek origanon oros "mountain" + the verb ganousthai "delight in".

subspecies of oregano Origanum vulgare is an important culinary herb.

Nutrition Facts

??? Nutrition Facts
Calories in ???
Carbs in ???
Fat in ???

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Uses

The subspecies of oregano Origanum vulgare is an important culinary herb. It is particularly widely used in Greek and in South Italy cuisine

Italian cuisine

Italian cuisine as a national cuisine known today has evolved through centuries of social and political changes, with its roots traced back to 4th century BC....
. It is the leaves

Leaves

Leaves are an Iceland five-piece alternative rock band who formed in 2001. They came to prominence in 2002 with their debut album, Breathe, drawing comparisons to groups such as Coldplay and Doves....
that are used in cooking, and the dried herb is often more flavourful than the fresh..

Oregano is often used in tomato sauce

Tomato sauce

A tomato sauce is any of a very large number of sauce made primarily out of tomatoes, usually to be served as part of a Dish . Tomato sauces are common for meat and vegetables, but they are perhaps best known as sauces for pasta dishes....
s, with fried vegetables, and grilled meat. Together with basil

Basil

Basil , of the Family Lamiaceae. Basil is a tender low-growing herb that is grown as a Perennial plant in warm, tropical climates. Basil is originally native to Iran, India and other tropical regions of Asia, having been cultivated there for more than 5,000 years....
, it contributes much to the distinctive character of many Italian dishes.

Oregano combines nicely with pickled olives, capers, and lovage

Lovage

Lovage is a plant, the Leaf and seeds or fruit of which are used to flavor food, especially in South European cuisine. It is a tall Perennial plant that vaguely resembles its cousin celery in appearance and in flavor....
leaves. Unlike most Italian herbs, oregano works with hot and spicy food, which is popular in southern Italy.

Oregano is an indispensable ingredient for Greek cuisine. Oregano adds flavour to Greek salad

Greek salad

Greek salad , 'country/village salad', is a common component of a traditional Greek meal. It is one of the most popular salads, especially during the summer months, in Greece and Cyprus as it is light, refreshing, and easy to make....
and is usually used separately or added to the lemon-olive oil sauce that accompanies many fish or meat barbecues and some casseroles.

It has an aromatic, warm and slightly bitter taste. It varies in intensity; good quality is so strong that it almost numbs the tongue, but the cultivars adapted to colder climates have often unsatisfactory flavour. The influence of climate, season and soil on the composition of the essential oil is greater than the difference between the various species.

The related species Origanum onites (Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
, Asia Minor) and O. heracleoticum (Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
, Balkan peninsula, West Asia) have similar flavours. A closely related plant is marjoram

Marjoram

Marjoram is a somewhat cold-sensitive perennial plant herb or undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavours. It is also called Sweet Marjoram or Knotted Marjoram and Majorana hortensis....
from Asia Minor, which, however, differs significantly in taste, because phenolic compounds are missing in its essential oil. Some breeds show a flavour intermediate between oregano and marjoram.

Pizza The dish most commonly associated with oregano is pizza

Pizza

Pizza is a world-popular dish of Italy origin, made with an oven-baked, flat, generally round bread that is often covered with tomatoes or a tomato-based sauce and mozzarella cheese....
. Its variations have probably been eaten in Southern Italy for centuries. Oregano became popular in the US when returning WWII soldiers brought back with them a taste for the “pizza herb”.

Health benefits

Oregano is high in antioxidant

Antioxidant

An antioxidant is a molecule capable of slowing or preventing the Redox of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons from a substance to an oxidizing agent....
activity, due to a high content of phenolic

Polyphenol antioxidant

A polyphenol antioxidant is a type of antioxidant containing a polyphenolic substructure. In human health these compounds, numbering over 4000 distinct species, are thought to be instrumental in combating oxidative stress, a process associated with some neurodegenerative diseases and some cardiovascular diseases....
acids and flavonoid

Flavonoid

The term flavonoid refers to a class of plant secondary metabolites. According to the IUPAC nomenclature, they can be classified into:*flavonoids, derived from 2-phenylchromone structure...
s. Additionally, oregano has demonstrated antimicrobial

Antimicrobial

An antimicrobial is a substance that kills or inhibits the growth of microbes such as bacteria, fungi, protozoals or viruses. Antimicrobial drugs either kill microbes or prevent the growth of microbes ....
activity against food-borne pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes. Both of these characteristics may be useful in both health and food preservation

Food preservation

Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food to stop or greatly slow down spoilage caused or accelerated by micro-organisms....
. In the Philippines, oregano (Coleus aromaticus) is not commonly used for cooking but is rather considered as a primarily medicinal plant, useful for relieving children's coughs.

Main constituents include carvacrol

Carvacrol

Carvacrol, or cymophenol, C6H3CH3, is a monoterpene phenol. It has a characteristic pungent, warm odor of oregano and a pizza-like taste....
, thymol

Thymol

Thymol also known as isopropylmethylphenol, is a monoterpene phenols derivative of cymene, C10H14OH, isomeric with carvacrol, found in oil of thyme, and Liquid-liquid extraction as a white crystalline substance of a pleasant aromatic odor and strong antiseptic properties....
, limonene

Limonene

Limonene is a hydrocarbon, classified as a cyclic terpene. It is a colourless liquid at room temperatures with an extremely strong smell of Orange ....
, pinene

Pinene

The chemical compound pinene is a bicyclic terpene known as a monoterpene . There are two structural isomers found in nature: Alpha-Pinene and Beta-pinene....
, ocimene

Ocimene

Ocimene refers to several isomeric organic compounds. The ocimenes are terpene found within a variety of plants and fruits. a-Ocimene and ?-ocimene differ in the position of one double bond....
, and caryophyllene

Caryophyllene

Caryophyllene , or -?-caryophyllene, is a natural bicyclic terpene that is a constituent of many essential oils, especially clove oil, the oil from the stems and flowers of Syzygium aromaticum , the essential oil of hemp Cannabis sativa, and rosemary Rosemary....
. The leaves and flowering stems are strongly antiseptic

Antiseptic

Antiseptics are antimicrobials that are applied to living biological tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putrefaction....
, antispasmodic

Antispasmodic

An antispasmodic is a medication or an herb that suppresses spasms. These are usually caused by smooth muscle contraction, especially in tubular organs....
, carminative

Carminative

A carminative, also known as carminativum , is an herb or preparation that either prevents formation of gas in the gastrointestinal tract, or facilitates the expulsion of said gas, thereby combating flatulence....
, cholagogue

Cholagogue

A cholagogue is a medicinal agent which promotes the discharge of bile from the system, purgative it downward....
, diaphoretic, emmenagogue

Emmenagogue

Emmenagogues are herbs which stimulate blood flow in the pelvic area and uterus; some stimulate menstruation. Women have used plants such as mugwort, parsley and ginger to prevent or terminate early pregnancy ....
, expectorant, stimulant

Stimulant

Stimulant drugs are drugs that temporarily increase alertness and awareness. They usually have increased side-effects with increased effectiveness, and the more powerful variants are therefore often prescription medicines or illegal drugs....
, stomachic

Stomachic

A stomachic medicine is one that serves to tonic the stomach, improving its function and increasing appetite. While many Herbalism claim stomachic effects, modern pharmacology does not have an equivalent term for this type of action....
and mildly tonic

Tonic

Tonic may refer to:*Tonic , a concept of musical theory*Tonic , an American post-grunge rock band*The Tonic, a Christian rapper and member of The Cross Movement...
. Aqueous extracts, capsules, or oil extracts of oregano are taken by mouth for the treatment of colds, influenza

Influenza

Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease that affects birds and mammals caused by RNA viruses of the biological family Orthomyxoviridae ....
, mild fevers, fungal infections, indigestion, stomach upsets, enteric parasites, and painful menstruation

Menstruation

See also "Mensuration", a term sometimes used to describe Measurement, particularly in the context of forestry.Menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining ....
. It is strongly sedative

Sedative

A sedative is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement.At higher doses it may result in slurred speech, staggering gait , poor judgment, and slow, uncertain reflexes....
and should not be taken in large doses, though mild teas have a soothing effect and aid restful sleep. Used topically, oregano is one of the best antiseptics because of its high thymol content

Hippocrates

Hippocrates

Hippocrates of Cos II or Hippokrates of Kos - ancient Greek: ; Hippokr?tes was an Ancient Greece physician of the Age of Pericles, and was considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine....
, the father of medicine, used oregano as an antiseptic as well as a cure for stomach and respiratory ailments. A Cretan oregano (O. dictamnus) is still used today in Greece to soothe a sore throat.

Oregano has recently been found to have extremely effective properties against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a Bacteria responsible for difficult-to-treat infections in humans. It may also be referred to as multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ....
(MRSA). Showing a higher effectiveness than 18 currently used drugs.

Other plants called oregano

Mexican oregano, Lippia graveolens (Verbenaceae

Verbenaceae

The verbena family or vervain vamily, Verbenaceae, is a family of mainly tropical plants. They are trees, shrubs and herbs notable for heads, spikes, or clusters of small flowers, many of which have an aromatic smell....
) is closely related to lemon verbena

Lemon verbena

Lemon verbena or Lemon beebrush is a deciduous perennial shrub native to Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, and Peru. This plant was brought to Europe by the Spain in the 17th century....
. It is a highly studied herb that is said to be of some medical use and is common in curandera female shamanic practices in Mexico and the Southwestern United States

Southwestern United States

The Southwestern area of the United States could be defined as the states west of the Mississippi River, with the qualification of a certain northern limit, such as the 37th parallel north, 38th parallel north, 39th parallel north, or 40th parallel north line....
. Mexican oregano has a very similar flavour to oregano, but is usually stronger. It is becoming more commonly sold outside of Mexico, especially in the United States. It is sometimes used as a substitute for epazote

Epazote

Epazote, Wormseed, Jesuit's Tea, Mexican Tea, or Herba Sancti Mari? is a herb native to Central America, South America, and southern Mexico....
leaves ; this substitution would not work the other way round.

Several other plants are also known as oregano in various parts of Mexico, including Poliomintha longiflora, Lippia berlandieri, and Plectranthus amboinicus
Plectranthus amboinicus

Plectranthus amboinicus is a tender fleshy perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae with an oregano-like flavor and odor, native to South and East Africa, but widely cultivated and naturalised in the Old and New World Tropics....
(syn. Coleus aromaticus), also called Cuban oregano.

Oregano

Uses

Health benefits

Other plants called oregano

See also

External links