Oregano - health matters - health, nutritional benefits - Brief Article

Better Nutrition, April, 2002

Oregano is well known for what it can do to spark up tomato-based dishes, but we're only now learning what the pungent herb can do for our health. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture have found that oregano and -- to a lesser degree -- other related herbs are powerful antioxidants, compounds that help eliminate harmful free radicals from the body.

Oregano, the researchers have discovered, has even stronger antioxidant powers than vegetables and fruits, which are loaded with them. That's one reason we're encouraged to eat plant-based diets rather than those dependent on meat, though it's not happening yet. Most Americans aren't even eating enough fruits and vegetables to gain antioxidant benefits.

A tablespoon of fresh oregano, researchers found, has more than 40 times the antioxidant power of apples and 30 times that of potatoes. Herbs like oregano offer enough power, says USDA's Dr. Shiow Wang, that they "should be considered as regular vegetables. People should use more herbs for flavoring instead of salt and artificial chemicals." Supplementing "a balanced diet with herbs may have beneficial health effects."

The research, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in November 2001, compared the antioxidant properties of 27 herbs-including basil, rosemary, dill, parsley and sage -- used in cooking, and 12 medicinal herbs. These included St. John's wort and valerian. Oregano beat 'em all, with its delicate Mediterranean cousin marjoram -- less popular in this country -- a distant second.