O regano can flavor your food and keep it safe, too. In two studies, essential oils extracted from 13 common household herbs and spices inhibited the growth of foodborne pathogens known to cause severe human illness and even death.
Essential oils are responsible for the characteristic aroma and flavor of herbs and spices.
The tests were conducted by a team of UT food scientists headed by Dr. Ann Draughon, professor of microbiology and co-director of the UT Food Safety Initiative, and Mona Elgayyar, a graduate research assistant from Cairo, Egypt. The two announced their findings at the American Society of Microbiology meeting in Chicago in June. The antimicrobial properties of oils extracted from garlic, onion, cinnamon, and cloves have been documented since the turn of the last century, but as the next century approaches, little research has been performed on extracts of other common cooking ingredients. Funded by the Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station, the studies developed out of Elgayyar's interests both in microbiology and in the fabled medicinal value of black cumin. In Middle Eastern cultures, extract from the spice is valued as a cure-all.