## 2 Phytonutrients
### Oregon
#### 2.5.3 Biomedical Effects Anticancer  
Antioxidant  
An in vitro study by [PERSON] et al. showed that OEO possessed a robust antioxidant activity (IC\({}_{50}\) = 0.2 mg/mL). While thymol and carvacrol were the components accounting for the antioxidant properties of oregano, the antioxidant activities of the two compounds were much inferior to the one observed for the whole extract with (IC\({}_{50}\) = 70-80 mg/mL for thymol and carvacrol). The authors concluded that thymol, carvacrol, and other extract phytocompounds acted in synergy to promote the scavenging of free radicals [243]. According to a study conducted on the human colon carcinoma intestinal Caco-2 cell line, thymol, carvacrol, and their mixture seem to exhibit double-edged anti- or pro-oxidant effects, depending on the concentration at which they are administered (pro-oxidants at sub-cytotoxic concentrations vs. antioxidants at higher concentrations) [244]. Antimicrobial  
* Antiviral  
An in vitro study conducted on simian Vero cell line CCL-81 showed that thymol, carvacrol, and p-cymene (all major components of oregano oils) possess antiviral properties against the human herpes simplex virus type 1 with respective IC\({}_{50}\) values of 0.002%, 0.037%, and >0.1%. The antiviral properties of the three compounds are believed to be correlated to their ability to interfere with the viral membrane fusion mechanism during the adsorption phase of the virus [245]. Furthermore, an in vitro study by [PERSON] and [PERSON] have reported a dose-dependent titer inhibition of the feline calicivirus and the murine norovirus by thymol, in the 1-2% (v:v) range concentrations [246]. * Antibacterial  
Thymol and carvacrol have been shown to exert antibacterial activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria [247]. In studies using thymol concentrations ranging from 26.5-52.9 mg/cm\({}^{2}\) showed potent inhibitory activity against the _S. aureus_, _B. subtilis_, _E. coli_, and _Salmonella enteritidis_[248]. Studies performed by [PERSON] et al. showed the following results: strong antibacterial activity of the OEOs, thymol, and carvacrol against _E. coli_, _C. perfringens_, and Salmonella strains. They also performed in vivo studies in 448 male broiler chicks by oral gavage using OEO. They found that OEO alleviated intestinal lesions and decreased _E. coli_ populations [249]. In another study, oregano oil showed great antibacterial activity against the following multidrug-resistant bacteria: three _Acinetobacter baumannii_, three _Pseudomonas aeruginosa_, and four methicillin-resistant _Staphylococcus aureus_ with inhibitory concentrations ranging from 0.08-0.64 mg/mL [250]. Another in vitro study showed that the use of OEO and carvacrol could curve Group A _streptococci_ erythromycincing-resistant bacterial infections [251]. Antifungal  
The in vitro antifungal properties of OEO, thymol, and carvacrol in the 40-350 mg/mL ranges have been reported in several studies against plant pathogenic fungi _Colletotrichum acattatum_ and _Botryodipidedia thebrorome_[252]; _Penicillium digitatum_ and _Penicillium italicum_[253]; food-relevant fungi _Cladosporum_ spp. and _Aspergillus_ spp. [254]; longan pathogens, _Lasiodipidia_ spp., _Phomopsis_ spp., _Pestalotopsis_ spp. and _Geotrichum candidium_[255]; and against _Fusarium verticilloides_ and _Rhizopus stolonifera_[256]. Furthermore, an in vivo study conducted in _Caenorhabditis elegans_ suggests that thymol possesses antifungal activity against _Candidia albicans_, the most prevalent cause of fungal infections in humans [257]. Anti-Inflammatory  
OEOs possess a strong anti-inflammatory activity, a property that is proposed to be mediated by its main active compounds: thymol and carvacrol. The impact of the OEOs on 14 protein biomarkers was closely related to the inflammatory response.