US High school student, Spencer Shipman, through a Science Fair Project, discovered that Oregano Oil outperforms Amoxicillin at killing bacteria. As a matter of fact, in his experiment, just one drop of the oregano oil killed 100% of the bacteria tested. They even found that a micropipette drop of oregano oil still outperformed Amoxicillin.
The benefits of Oregano Oil have been deeply studied and proven, yet it takes a high schooler and his science project to get this incredible information to the “masses”.
Carvacrol, a major component of oregano oil, is believed to insert itself into the bacterial cell membrane, increasing its permeability. This disrupts the membrane’s structure and function, causing essential components to leak out and leading to cell death.
Oregano oil can also interfere with the bacteria’s ability to produce energy (ATP) and disrupt their metabolic pathways, including the TCA cycle. This further hinders their growth and survival.
Carvacrol has also been shown to interact with bacterial DNA, causing structural damage and hindering its replication.
Also, the carvacrol and thymol in Oregano Oil can actually work synergistically with some antibiotics for more serious infections. A synergy describes a situation where the combined effect of two or more supplements/medications is greater than the sum of their individual effects when each is given alone.
https://csef.usc.edu/History/2015/Projects/J1602.pdf
Further data supporting his research: