I've been growing the "Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban" version of Oregano this year as my mother-in-law sent me some clippings from her yard for me to plant. The plant has been bountiful, which is amazing as I don't have the greenest thumb, lol.

I needed to harvest a bunch of it, so I started looking into the benefits and ways to use/store it. Well, I didn't expect to learn that it is a powerhouse herb. And apparently the type of oregano that I've been growing it seems to be particular high in luteolin, also contains significantly higher of amounts of apigenin, naringenin and quercetin than oregano.

I made Oregano oil using Organic Olive Oil and also made Oregano Tincture with my harvest.

There are different ways to make Oregano oil, I did the heating up method and letting it sit in a cool dark place for a few weeks. Cut up the leaves pretty small, put in jar, fill with olive oil just to top of leaves, close jar and shake up to get everything coated. Then you can either heat up some water to almost boiling, turn off heat and put jar in pot with lid on for 10 -30 minutes (I just left it till it cooled down most of the way), put in cool dark place for about 2 weeks. Then after 2 wks, strain it into a clean/sanitized jar. Lots of videos of people doing it different ways. Some do everything I said but don't heat it, just put it in cool dark place for a few weeks.

Oregano Tincture that I made by cutting up the leaves, putting them in a mason jar about halfway or a little more than halfway, then fill up the jar to the very tip top with Vodka, put the top on and move around the jar in your hands so that the vodka mixes in good and everything is covered. Open the jar to top off with more vodka if needed, put top on and place in a cool dark place for about 6 -8 weeks (I learned to let sit for 8 weeks, but others say 6 wks). You can find a bunch of videos on how to make Oregano Oil & tinctures.

This type of Oregano can grow large leaves. I've had some that was as big as my hand (when laying on my open palm).

This isn't a picture of my oregano but one I got online that looks like what I have... https://files.catbox.moe/shpb0a.jpg

Mexican oregano

Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) is not part of the same family as common oregano; it is part of the verbena, rather than the mint, family of plants. Mexican oregano is native to the southwestern U.S., Mexico, and Central America. It's volatile oil components give it a flavor similar to Mediterranean-derived oregano (although stronger, it is at the same time less bitter and less minty). Therefore, Mexican oregano can be successfully substituted for oregano in many recipes.

Mexican oregano has a far higher content of chemopreventive compounds than oregano. It is particular high in luteolin, which has been found to suppress triple negative breast cancer cell proliferation and metastasis and to reduce ER+/PR+ cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Luteolin has also been shown to inhibit angiogenesis (new blood vessel formation) and aromatase activity (in which androgens are converted into estrogens) in the laboratory. Mexican oregano also contains significantly higher of amounts of apigenin, naringenin and quercetin than oregano. Therefore, we would recommend using Mexican oregano, which is sold in dried form, but it should be purchased organic.

Dietary sources

Oregano is also a dietary source of apigenin, beta-carotene, caffeic acid, calcium, ferulic acid, iron, lutein, luteolin, manganese, myricetin, naringenin, oleanolic acid, quercetin, rosmarinic acid, ursolic acid and vitamin K. However, the chemopreventive micronutrients with most significant content are quercetin, ferulic acid and ursolic acid.

Oregano has been used extensively for centuries as herbal medicine for its antiseptic and antibiotic properties, treating digestive and respiratory conditions such as nausea, diarrhea, and asthma, as well as fever. However, while there are a multitude of studies pertaining to the micronutrients in oregano, few studies have attempted to address the chemopreventive potential of oregano as a whole food.

https://foodforbreastcancer.com/foods/oregano

Oregano shown to effectively destroy prostate cancer cells (Fox news article) Published April 25, 2012 & Updated October 28, 2015

A new study published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology highlights the cancer fighting effects of one of the main components of oregano called carvacrol. While some research has been done previously on the herb’s medicinal properties, this is the first study of its kind to study the effects of carvacrol on prostate cancer.

There is also some literature that shows this compound has some effects against breast cancer and other cancer cells.

Bavadekar’s team is still running tests on carvacrol, but preliminary reports have revealed that the compound is an extremely potent anti-cancer agent – eliminating nearly all the prostate cancer cells it was tested against.

From the early reports, the team was able to deduce that carvacrol stimulated apoptosis – or “cell suicide” – in the prostate cancer cells. While these initial results provide significant insight into oregano’s benefits, Bavadekar is hard at work trying to understand how exactly the compound triggers this programmed cell death.

https://www.foxnews.com/health/oregano-shown-to-effectively-destroy-prostate-cancer-cells

Oregano Phytocomplex Induces Programmed Cell Death in Melanoma Lines via Mitochondria and DNA Damage

Oregano extract induced oxidative stress and inhibited melanogenesis and tumor cell proliferation, triggering programmed cell death pathways (both apoptosis and necroptosis) through mitochondria and DNA damage. By contrast, oregano extract was safe on healthy tissues, revealing no cytotoxicity and mutagenicity on C2C12 myoblasts, considered as non-tumor proliferating cell model system, and on Salmonella strains, by the Ames test. All these data provide scientific evidence about the potential application of this food plant as an anticancer agent in in vivo studies and clinical trials.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7603152/

Oregano Oil-The Natural Cancer Cell Killer

One of the most potent essentials oils known to kill off cancer cells is oregano. Oregano essential oil has proven to kill six different kinds of cancer cells in fact. They are cervical, breast, leukemia, lung, colon and prostate. This is because oregano contains powerful antioxidants in it that fight off cancer causing cells naturally.

Also tells you one of the ways to make your own Oregano Oil.

https://naturalnewsblogs.com/oregano-oil-natural-cancer-cell-killer/

Oregano: Overview of the Literature on Health Benefits

Medicinal uses for oregano date back to the ancient Greek and Roman empires where applications of the leaves were used to treat such maladies as skin sores and relieve aching muscles and as an antiseptic. Oregano also has been used in traditional medicines for such ailments as asthma, cramping, diarrhea, and indigestion.

Oregano contains several potent antioxidants that may contribute to the findings in preliminary studies that oregano exhibits benefits toward the cardiovascular and nervous systems, relieves symptoms of inflammation, and modulates blood sugar and lipids.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232240488_Oregano_Overview_of_the_Literature_on_Health_Benefits

A year ago, @lovecymru posted a video that I was going to add here, so thought I'd share the post instead of a FB link. Lots of comments under this post to look through.

https://greatawakening.win/p/16bj5MWJl4/student-did-experiment-on-oregan/c/

If anyone has any additional benefits or have had positive outcomes using Oregano, please share in the comments. Hope everyone finds this informational.