In one trial, an oregano oil nose spray beat a steroid for sinusitis
Over four weeks, 75 adults with long-lasting sinus symptoms improved far more on the oregano spray than on a steroid spray or a dummy one. It was sprayed into the nose, not swallowed.
What the study found
Sprayed in the nose, oregano oil beat a steroid for chronic sinusitis
In 75 adults with chronic sinusitis without polyps, four weeks of an oregano oil nasal spray, about 64 mg a day, cut a 22-item symptom score by 51.5 points, against 21.6 on a steroid spray and 11.8 on a sesame oil placebo. It is one trial of a spray, not of oil swallowed for a cold.
The caveat · One clinic, 25 a group, not repeated
The oregano nasal-spray trial ran at one clinic with 25 people a group and has not been repeated. Every group also followed the same Persian-medicine lifestyle routine, which may explain part of the placebo group's gain. A 2023 pooled ranking that put oregano first for this condition rests on this same trial.
What we don't know
The oregano nasal-spray trial ran at one clinic with 25 people a group and has not been repeated. Every group also followed the same Persian-medicine lifestyle routine, which may explain part of the placebo group's gain. A 2023 pooled ranking that put oregano first for this condition rests on this same trial.