Origanum Oil

#### Origanum Oils. For a summary of the **Thyme**** **and **Origanum**** **oils, see **Thyme**** **and **Origanum**. Origanum oil is steam distilled from the dried, flowering herb of **Thymus Capitatus**, a plant which grows wild in the Middle East, Asia Minor and in Spain. A related plant, **Origanum**** ****Virens**** **and other species of **Origanum**, grow wild in abundance in Morocco where the plant serves for distillation of Moroccan origanum oil. By far, the majority of all origanum oils are derived from the "Spanish" type, **Thymus Capitatus**. This plant is distilled in Spain, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey (Fethiye region), etc., particularly in the two former countries. Distillation of origanum oil in Cyprus was abandoned a few months prior to the author's last visit there in *1956, *and production has not been resumed. The **Origanum Vulgare **is distilled in the U.S.S.R., Bulgaria and Italy, but this plant yields an entirely different oil (see **Marjoram, Wild**). This plant is a typical garden herb, and it is cultivated for culinary purposes all over the world, including the U.S.A., Central America, South America, India, etc. In Yugoslavia, **Origanum Hirtum **is used for distillation, but the oil is little known outside its country of origin. Spanish or Israeli **Origanum**** ****Oil**** **is a dark brownish-red or grayish-red or purple to dark orange colored liquid, possessing a strong, tar-like, herbaceous, but very refreshing odor. The topnote is slightly green-camphoraceous, herbaceous, and the body is rich, dry-woody, somewhat reminiscent of cade and phenols ("hospital-odor", "medicinal odor"). On drying out, the odor becomes sweeter, but remains phenolic-dry and woody (as distinguished from the dryout of thyme oil). The flavor is somewhat burning, warm-phenolic ("hospital- like") with a rich herbaceous undertone. The flavor becomes fairly pleasant only in high dilution. The oil is used in perfumery for its powerful refreshing notes and its spicy-herbaceous effect. The medicinal note is often utilized in soap perfumes of the "medicated" type where this type of odor agrees with the special purpose of the soap. The main constituent of origanum oil is the liquid phenol, **Carvacrol**, and this fact must be kept in mind when the oil is used in perfumes. The phenol will discolor in the presence of iron, and it is also strongly affected by alkali. Strongly alkaline media will "kill" the odor of carvacrol under formation of odorless salts of this phenol. However, the oil is effective in soap perfumes, provided the soapbase (stock) is of low alkalinity. Together with lavandin, ocotea pretiosa oil, amyl salicylate, coumarin, oakmoss products, linalool, cedarwood oil and its derivatives, pine needle oils or isobornyl acetate, isobornyl propionate, rosemary oil, spike lavender oil, citronella oil, camphor oils, cyclohexanone derivatives, etc., the oil can produce interesting and powerful fragrances and bases for soap perfumes. Trace amounts of origanum oil are useful for topnote effects in citrus colognes, fougères, forestnotes, chypres, lavender-colognes, spicy-herbaceous after-shave fragrances and lotions, etc. The oil is also used in flavor work, but the milder types of origanum oil are often preferred for this purpose, or, still better, thyme oil is used (see **Marjoram Oils **and **Thyme Oils**). **Moroccan Origanum Oil **is quite similar to the Spanish oil in composition and odor. None of the origanum oils are uniform from year to year, probably due to the variety of wild plants growing in the harvesting area, the lack of accuracy in picking one species alone, and the fact that thyme oil stills are used also for origanum oil in many cases. **Rectified **or **"White" Origanum Oil **is a redistilled oil which is pale yellow or pale orange of color when freshly distilled. It darkens on ageing and it does not offer any advantage over the natural oil beyond that of the immediate color of the oil. The rectified oil usually lacks the fresh herbaceous bouquet which seems to mask the phenolic notes in the natural oil to a certain degree. All **Carvacrol**-types of (i.e. *true)** *origanum oil are subject to adulteration or contamination with thyme oil (and vice versa, see **Thyme Oil**). Pure carvacrol is not cheap enough to make an adulteration with this material economical. Carvacrol is produced synthetically from carvone (which can be synthesized from d-limonene) or from paracymene, but the demand for carvacrol is small. The isomer, Thymol, is considerably more useful. The annual world production of **Origanum**** ****Oil**** **has fluctuated between 80 and 150 metric tons during the five-year period 1955/59*.*