Compound or practice · Supplement
Oregano Oil
A carvacrol-rich antimicrobial popular for gut and colds — mostly test-tube evidence, harsh on the gut lining.
- Overall grade
- Grade D
- Last revised
- 1
- graded outcome
- 0
- references listed
A structured monograph in Prometheus's bundled library. Its grades are the monograph's own reading of the evidence, not a peer-reviewed review.
1 at grade D — 1 graded row
What is known
Each outcome with its grade (how strong the evidence is, A to D), the size of the effect where the entry records one, and how often studies agree.
- Gut/immune (clinical)Evidence grade D
Lab-dominated
Unclearlow
What is uncertain
Read off the same rows as above. Nothing here is added that the entry does not itself record.
- Thin evidence: Gut/immune (clinical) (grade D).
The evidence in words
What it is
Oregano oil is concentrated in carvacrol and thymol, marketed as a natural antimicrobial.
How it works
Carvacrol disrupts microbial membranes in vitro; whether meaningful antimicrobial levels are reached in the human gut is unclear.
What the evidence shows
Antimicrobial activity is robust in the lab but human clinical evidence (SIBO, infections, colds) is weak. It's irritating and non-selective, hitting beneficial flora too.
Safety & interactions
Irritating to mucosa; dilute; not for pregnancy or long-term use.
Bottom line
Strong in a petri dish, unproven in people, and harsh. Not a reliable gut or immune remedy.
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- Bovine ColostrumFirst-milk immune factors with early evidence for gut barrier and reducing exercise/athlete infections.Evidence grade C
- LactoferrinAn iron-binding milk protein with real signals for gut immunity, iron status and acne — versatile, promising, still maturing.Evidence grade C
- Oregano Oil for Gut/immune (clinical)Evidence grade D — Lab-dominatedEvidence grade D
- Oregano Oil: side effects, safety & interactionsIrritating to mucosa; dilute; not for pregnancy or long-term use.Evidence grade D
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.