Oregano Oil & Lung Cancer In Rats

Archived from my Oils Herbs Etc Yahoo List and posted with the permission of original author - Butch Owen, making him ALOF's guest blogger of the day.




Origanum onites and Lung Cancer in Rats

Hi y'all,

A number of folks have asked me about the portion of the lecture I gave
in September 1999, at the Canadian Aromatherapy Conference in Toronto ..
pertaining to the use of Essential Oil of Oregano (Origanum onites) to
cure lung cancer in rats.

What I presented was the results of research conducted at the Aromatic
and Medicinal Plant and Drug Research Center, Anadolu University,
Eskisehir, Turkey. This research was a scientifically controlled
experiment. Professor Dr. K. Husnu Can Baser and 4 other prominent
professors (one a medical doctor) conducted all phases.

A series of lab tests were conducted, after a period of time, it was
determined that there was justification to do animal testing, so twelve
adult Wistar albino rats of both sexes were acquired.

The test was to determine the inhibitory effects of carvacrol on DMBA
induced pulmonary tumorigenesis in rats.

Cancer was induced in the lungs of each of the rats. The lungs of all
of the rats developed tumor like dark red and brown spots.

The first group received no treatment, The second group was treated
with the standard antitumor agent, Colchicine and NaCl. The third group
was treated with Carvacrol from the Essential Oil of Origanum onites L.,
in a base of neutral sterile olive oil.

By six days, all the first group of rats had died and one of the rats
in the second group had died. The remaining rats were put to sleep and
the lung tissue was examined with a microscope and photographed.

The second group has considerable evidence of slowing tumor development.
In the third group (the group treated with carvacrol) there was evidence
of complete loss of tumor development. In fact, tumorial activity had
ceased and the lung tissue was repairing itself.

The study concluded that carvacrol possessed antitumor activities on
lungs induced by DMBA, and determined that FURTHER STUDY is required.

As I said during the lecture, this is not a recommendation .. just a
brief of details on this study ... it is known to many in the scientific
community and has been published both in Turkey and in Europe.

I have the colored micro-slides .. they are quite clear. I had planned
to present it again at the NAHA conference in June 2002, but as many of
you know .. I later declined to participate in that conference or any
other NAHA conference until that organization cleans itself up, becomes
to be concerned about their members instead of their own pockets, fun,
travel and games and begins to operate in accordance with applicable IRS
laws and their own constitution and bylaws.

In any case .. studies like this reminds me that the FDA will accept
that something is a carcinogen based on studies with rats, but curing a
rats gets a comment that rats aren't humans. I agree with them but it
sets the stage for assuming lack of credibility of in vivo testing.

Its my opinion that many of the cures of man's ills will be found and
used in third world or emerging countries because the researchers there
are generally less likely to have been compromised by the mega-buck
pharmaceutical companies. If a university is offered $5 million to do
research to prove what a pharmaceutical company wants proven on a new
patent or prescription drug, odds are research such as that conducted by
these professors will not be made .. and we know that such research is
NOT in the best interests of the pharmaceutical companies because they
cannot get a patent on a natural product..

The leader of that group, Professor Doctor K. Husnu Can Baser, then
Director of the Center and the Dean of the Pharmacy Faculty at the
university, has done some other work that is just as exciting - and
continues to do even more now! Lucky it is that at the time of this
study, Anadolu University had not been compromised .. yet.

So - even though I said it doesn't mean a thing for humans - I still use
my Origanum when I need it.

Oh yea .. I asked Professor Baser why he chose Origanum onites instead
of a different type. He chuckled and said it was because that was the
one he had handy at the time. ;-)

Y'all keep smiling, Butch