Intro: For centuries up until the present day, plants have given us so many things to our society. They can be used as food to give energy or to give cure for some illnesses. It has so many uses which is important for our daily living. The Origanum vulgare, also known for its common name Oregano (sometimes called ‘wild marjoram’) is a perennial herb that has been used since Ancient times by the Greeks due to its beneficial effects and prescribed it for a variety of ailments. Two of its major uses are for medicinal and culinary purposes. Hippocrates once used this plant as an antiseptic to cure specific ailments.
The Romans adapted the use of oregano from the Greeks and make use of the plant as spices to give flavor to their food and also treat diseases. It rapidly reached China and other Asian countries by the help of trade. Its chief components are Carvacrol, Thymol, Cymene, Caryophyllene, Pinene, Bisabolene, Linalool, Borneol, Geranyl Acetate, Linalyl Acetate and Terpinene. The application of oregano had grown and is still expanding worldwide because of the advancement in science and technology that maximized and specified the capabilities of this plant. (History of Oregano.
Retrieved August 17, 2011, InDepthInfo website, http://indepthinfo. com/oregano/history. shtml) Oregano is known for its great medicinal uses, for being an anti-spasmodic, tonic, dissolvent, emollient, calmative, diaphoretic, expectorant, stomachic. The infusion of its leaves is used for stomach upsets and indigestion, headache. INTRODUCTION Oregano (Scientific name: Origanum vulgare) is also known as Wild Marjoram, Mountain Mint, Origanum, Wintersweet and Winter Marjoram. This erectly spreading plant has strong aromatic characteristics, with leaves and stems that are fleshy.
The leaves of oregano are heart-shaped, with toothed edges, and which, grow for up to 9 meters in length. In other countries, the plant is primarily used as a culinary ingredient. However, in countries like the Philippines, Oregano is a known herbal medicine for its strong anti-oxidant properties. Plant family: Lamiaceae (mint family). Sensoric quality: Aromatic, warm and slightly bitter. Oregano largely varies in intensity: Good quality is so strong that it almost numbs the tongue, but the cultivars adapted to colder climate have often unsatisfactory flavor.
Main constituents: The essential oil (max.4%) may contain variable amounts of the two phenols carvacrol and thymol (see also thyme and savory); furthermore, a variety of monoterpene hydrocarbons (limonene, terpinene, ocimene, caryophyllene, beta-bisabolene and p-cymene) and monoterpene alcohols (linalool, 4-terpineol) are reported. In Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) an essential oil of very similar constitution is found. A typical analysis is as follows: 50% thymol, 12% carvacrol, 9% p-cymene and a number of further monoterpenoids (1,8 cineol, gamma-terpinene, terpinene-4-ol and terpinene-4-yl acetate) in amounts between 1 and 5%.
Flowering Oregano. This Italian cultivar has an exceptionally intensive flavor. Origin: Several species of genus Origanum are native to the Mediterranean, all of which are traded as a spice. The influence of climate, season and soil on the composition of the essential oil is greater than the difference between the various species. The most important species are O. vulgare (pan-European), O. onites (Greece, Asia Minor) and O. heracleoticum (Italy, Balkan peninsular, West Asia).