The oregano leaves have been added to meat, fish and food products. They are known and used as spices with a thymol/carvacrol type odor in Turkey. Previous studies reported the potential of oregano essential oil to preserve food, such as fresh chicken breast meat, swordfish and octopus.
Origanum essential oil is used as a food additive and also as a fragrance component in cosmetic products. Essential oils are “volatile oils or essences derived from vegetation and characterized by distinctive odors and a substantial measure of resistance to hydrolysis”. The high content of volatile essential oils is responsible for the antimicrobial activity, aroma, and flavor.
Previous studies indicated more than 50% of oregano oil consists of phenolic compounds (primarily carvacrol and thymol). This oil also contains sesquiterpene, terpinene, terpineol alcohol, flavonoids, and other compounds.
These are a complex mixture of different volatile compounds present in aromatic plants in a natural way that, due to their properties and their fragrance, are widely used in cosmetics, in the food industry to improve the taste and the organoleptic properties, and in a variety of household products.
Essential oil of oregano showed a good antioxidant capacity, antimicrobial activity against microorganisms and tyrosinase inhibition activity. In recent years, there have been important studies about the antimicrobial activity of essential oils of aromatic plants and their potential role in food preservation.
Essential oil of oregano
