NIS - libdoc.who.int - World Health Organization

Herba Origani
essential oil of the aerial parts of the plant exhibited a strong antifungal effect
at a concentration of 100.0 ppm/agar plate against Gloeosporium album,
Phytophthora nicotianae, Botrytis cinerea, Helminthosporium teres,
Monilia laxa and Phytophthora infestans (52). The essential oil also inhibited
the growth of Cryptococcus neoformans at a minimum inhibitory concentration
of 150 µl/l/agar plate and inhibited the growth of Candida albicans
by 0.12% (53, 54). The essential oil of the leaf (0.25 and 1 µl/ml/agar
plate) inhibited the growth of Trichophyton rubrum, Trichosporon beigelii
and Malassezia furfur (55).
Antiviral activity
A 10% aqueous extract of the aerial parts of the plant demonstrated antiviral
activity in cell culture against herpes simplex virus (HSV-2), influenza
virus A2 (Mannheim 57) and vaccinia virus (56).
Insecticide activity
The essential oil of the aerial parts of the plant (concentration 20 µg)
caused complete sterility in Dysdercus koenigii (57), and topical application
of the oil demonstrated insecticidal properties (20 µl of stock solution
of origanum oil) against Drosophila auraria adults, eggs and larvae
(58). The median lethal dose for Drosophila melanogaster was determined
to be 6.78 µl of stock solution of origanum oil by the somatic mutation
and recombination test (59).
Antiparasitic activity
The essential oil of the fresh leaves of the plant (1 mg/l) acted as an antinematodal
agent against Meloidogyne javanica (60).
Anti-inflammatory effects
The methanol extract of Origanum leaf applied externally to mice (20 µl/
animal) exhibited anti-inflammatory effects in animals with ear inflammation
induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (61). Similarly,
the external application of a methanol extract of Origanum leaf to mice
in vivo at a dose of 2 mg/ear inhibited ear inflammation induced by 12-Otetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate
with an index of inhibition of 27 (62).
Antioxidant activity
A tannin fraction and an ethanol-aqueous extract (1:1) of the dried flowering
top and leaf of Origanum vulgare exhibited strong antioxidant activity
in vitro. The free-radical scavenging effect of the tannin fraction on
1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl was estimated to occur at a median effec-
291