Medicinal Uses, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of Origanum onites (L.): A Review.

Medicinal Uses, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of Origanum onites (L.): A Review.

Chem Biodivers. 2016 Apr 8;

Authors: Tepe B, Cakir A, Tepe AS

Abstract
Origanum onites L., known as Turkish oregano, has great traditional, medicinal, preservative and commercial importance. It is used for the treatment of several kinds of ailments such as gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes, high cholesterol, leukemia, bronchitis, etc. In this review, traditional use, phytochemistry and pharmacology of O. onites reported between 1988-2014 were discussed. This review was prepared based on literature survey on scientific journals and books from libraries and electronic sources such as Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, etc. All databases were searched up to June 2014. Several different classes of terpenoids, triterpene acids, phenolic acids, hydroquinones, flavonoids, hydrocarbons, sterols, pigments, fatty acids, tocopherols, and inorganic compounds were detected mainly in the aerial parts of this plant. Pharmacological studies revealed that extracts obtained by several solvents and individual compounds exhibited antimicrobial, antiviral, antioxidant, insecticidal, anti-cancer, hepatoprotective, genotoxic, anti-diabetic, cholinesterase inhibitory, anti-inflammatory, analgesic activities etc. O. onites, in general, exhibited remarkable activity potential in almost all test systems. The results of toxicity studies indicated that O. onites did not show any significant toxicity and mutagenicity on Drosophila and Salmonella. Toxicity of the extracts/essential oils and also individual compounds should be evaluated on mammalian cells to ensure their safety on mammalian cells. The bioactivity of individual compounds apart from terpenoids should also be assessed in detail. Additionally, mode of action for the bioactive compounds should be evaluated to understand the complex pharmacological effects of these phytochemicals. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID: 27062715 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]