Oregano and squinanth

Statema, B. C. P.

Plant

Oregano and squinanth

Origano; squinanto

Known today as: Oregano, Origanum vulgare; squinanth, Cymbopogon schoenanthus, a relative of lemongrass.
Kind: Plant, in 2 older authorities
Constituents: carvacrol, thymol, piperitone, and 1 more
Earliest authority here: Dioscorides (c. AD 40–90)
In other databases: Plants of the World Online search · GBIF search · Wikidata search
In the Canale glossary: On the Manner of Discerning and Healing the Bewitched, Appendix A: Part Three, Chapter 6: Remedies Given by Mouth After the Purge

Revised October 1, 2026: Tradition, lore, modern assessment, and sources extended. Version 1, first published September 25, 2026.

Oregano and squinanth: what did Canale use it for?

In the cockerel; oregano in baths for cold complexions (chs. 6–7).

Oregano and squinanth: what does modern science say?

Aromatic. Oregano oil is antibacterial in the laboratory. Carvacrol in oregano oil kills bacteria and fungi in the dish and is studied as a feed additive; squinanth is a lemongrass, with citral in its oil, and the two together are a sound warming aromatic for a bath.

Pharmacognosy & Toxicology

Constituents

carvacrol ChEMBLup to 80 per cent of oregano oil
thymol ChEMBL
piperitone ChEMBLin camel grass, the squinanth
citral ChEMBLin lemongrass, often sold as squinanth

Mechanism

Carvacrol and thymol are broadly antibacterial and antifungal by disrupting membranes, which is the whole credential of “oil of oregano”; the camel grass of the Arab pharmacy is a carminative lemongrass relative.

Toxic dose

Oregano as a herb is safe; the oil undiluted burns the mouth and skin.

Standing

Oregano has no EMA monograph (the agency assessed its cousins, dittany of Crete and marjoram); it is a spice with a laboratory literature, and squinanth has nothing.

Nostro, A., and Papalia, T. (2012). “Antimicrobial activity of carvacrol: current progress and future prospectives.” Recent Patents on Anti-Infective Drug Discovery 7. Verified against its record · doi:10.2174/157489112799829684

The abstract of each source, beneath its citation. For Club members. About the Club or sign in.

Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.

Oregano and squinanth: what lore surrounds it?

Oregano is “joy of the mountain,” oros ganos, the herb Aphrodite grew on Olympus and the Greeks planted on graves for the peace of the dead; squinanth was the camel’s hay, the fodder of the caravans, and a tent of it smelled of lemons.

Oregano and squinanth: what did the older authorities say?

Dioscorides: Gives origanon, hot and biting, for the stomach and the chest, in baths and fumigations, and schoinos, the camel grass of Arabia, warming, for the womb and the stomach, in the great antidotes.
The Arab trade: Squinanth, idhkhir, came in bundles from Arabia and the Nile with the other aromatics of theriac and mithridate, and the Prophet is said to have allowed it to be cut in the sanctuary of Mecca for the smiths and the graves.

Sources

[59] Hao, Y., Li, J., & Shi, L. (2021). A carvacrol-rich essential oil extracted from oregano (Origanum vulgare ‘Hot & Spicy’) exerts potent antibacterial effects against Staphylococcus aureus. Frontiers in Microbiology 12: 741861. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2021.741861 Verified against its record · doi:10.3389/fmicb.2021.741861

Dioscorides, De materia medica I and III. Primary text
Sahih al-Bukhari, on the idhkhir of Mecca. Book, seen in reviews

Verification

Checked

October 1, 2026

Passes

Every sentence read against its sources, in the pass over the remaining 343 entries
The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database

Sources

4 cited: 2 verified against its record, 1 primary text, 1 book, seen in reviews. 2 with the abstract on file.

Corrections

None were needed.

What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.

Cite This Entry

Version 1 · first published September 25, 2026 · last revised October 1, 2026

Chicago: “Oregano and squinanth.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified October 1, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/oregano-and-squinanth.
MLA: “Oregano and squinanth.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 1 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/oregano-and-squinanth. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
APA: Oregano and squinanth. (2026, October 1). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/oregano-and-squinanth

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