MRSA vs Himalayan/Mediterranean Carvacol

[HysteryDiagnosis]

More at Link: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/130620.php

Scientists already knew that Mediterranean oregano oil was a powerful antimicrobial, because of an essential compound called carvacol. But nobody had tested the Himalayan oregano oil before, said Heron, so they teamed up with SGS who run a lab in Delhi and found it contained as much carvacol as the Mediterranean one.

At SGS they ran further tests and found that the Himalayan oregano oil was more effective at killing MRSA than 18 antibiotics. The microbiologists at UWE are now carrying out further tests, and hope to publish the results in a scientific journal.

Professor Vyv Salisbury, who leads the UWE arm of the project, and co-investigator Dr Shona Nelson, also from UWE, said they were very excited to have this opportunity to help the community. Salisbury said:

"We have done a few preliminary tests and have found that the essential oil from the oregano kills MRSA at a dilution 1 to 1,000."

[snagglepuss]

1. The involvement of the manufacturer Biolaya Organics negates the value of the

study because of its vested interest.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. You don't say.... this university doesn't plant it, grow it sell it or

smoke it.

Phytochemical analysis and in vitro antimicrobial activity of two Satureja species essential oils.
Skocibusić M, Bezić N.

University of Split, Faculty of Natural Science Mathematics and Education, Department of Biology, Teslina 12, 21000 Split, Croatia. [e-mail]

The phytochemical GCMS analysis and in vitro antimicrobial activity of the essential oils of the aerial parts of Satureja montana L. and Satureja cuneifolia Ten., collected in Croatia were performed. The major compound of S. montana oil was the phenolic monoterpene carvacrol (45.7%). Other important compounds were the monoterpenic hydrocarbons p-cymene (12.6%), gamma-terpinene (8.1%) and the oxygen-containing compounds carvacrol methyl ether, borneol, thymol and thymol methyl ether. The volatile oil of S. cuneifolia was characterized as beta-cubebene (8.7%), limonene (8.3%), alpha-pinene (6.9%), spathulenol and beta-caryophyllene. The antimicrobial effects of S. montana and S. cuneifolia oils were found to have a broad spectrum activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens by the broth microdilution method.

These oils were active against all the test strains, with the exception of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Compared with S. cuneifolia, savory oil exhibited greater antimicrobial activity. The maximum activity of savory oil was observed against Escherichia coli, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and against the yeast (Candida albicans). The essential oil of S. cuneifolia was also found to inhibit the growth of medically important pathogens such as S. aureus and E. coli. Fungicidal activity for both oils against C. albicans and S. cerevisiae was also observed. 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[snagglepuss]

3. I'm not saying the study is bunk but when manufacturers with a vested

interest are involved in any study a red flag is waived. Its an indication to not take the results as gospel and check other sources.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

4. Of course it is good to check other sources, I am not implying that

using this oil of wild oregano will recover someone from MRSA... but it might help them, it could be used as a topical adjuvant to antibiotic therapy, or perhaps even probiotic therapy.


Antagonistic activity against pathogenic bacteria by human vaginal lactobacilli.
Voravuthikunchai SP, Bilasoi S, Supamala O.

Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Hatyai, Songkla 90112, Thailand. [e-mail]

This study attempted to isolate lactobacilli strains from healthy vaginal ecosystem to search for a new effective antibacterial probiotic strain. The strains were identified and characterized for their probiotic properties including bile salt and acid tolerance, growth at acidic pH, their ability to utilize protein, starch, and lipid, the production of hydrogen peroxide and bacteriocin as well as their antibiotic resistance patterns. The antibacterial activity of the culture supernatant of these strains were tested against a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae. Salmonella typhi, and Salmonella typhimurium. None of the strains inhibited the growth of Gram-negative bacteria. Contrastly, the culture supernatant of strain L 22, identified as Lactobacillus reuteri, significantly inhibited all of the clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA).

The antibacterial effect of the selected strain L 22 was further investigated. In the presence of L 22, the bacterial growth was assessed in vitro by viable bacterial counting. The numbers of viable cells were significantly lower in L 22-containing broth than those in the control by 6h. This finding clearly demonstrates that strain L 22 can produce an anti-MRSA effect. The antibacterial ability of the strain L 22 was fundamentally attributed to their bacteriocin production which can cause both cell inhibition and cell death.