## 1 Introduction  
Food deterioration during storage is a major environmental issue and concern of the food industry that generates over a billion tons of food waste and USD 940 billion in economic losses annually [1]. One of the leading causes of food degradation is lipid oxidation which generates off-flavors and loss of nutrients in fat-containing foods. Severaltechniques can be adopted to decrease auto-oxidation, such as preventing oxygen access by employing suitable packaging materials, storing food products at lower temperatures, or inactivating enzymes catalyzing oxidation [2]. However, these methods are not always applicable or economic from nutritional and technological points of view [3]. Therefore, using food antioxidants, especially synthetic ones, has become indispensable in prolonging the shelf-life of foodstuffs.  
The modern food consumer does not perceive food as basic nutrition alone but also for the health benefits it can generate. Furthermore, the suspicions regarding the harmful effects on human health of synthetic antioxidants such as gallic acid esters (e.g., propyl gallate, octyl gallate, and dodecyl gallate), butylhydroxytoluene (BHT) or butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) [4; 5; 6] have led to increased consumer demands for minimally processed foods with clean, easy-to-read labels and long shelf lives. Consequently, in the last few decades, the food industry companies were urged to access natural extracts as a source of food additives to preserve food safety without harming consumers' health. Through their extracts, especially essential oils (EO), aromatic and medicinal plants are a valuable source of biologically active compounds [7; 8; 9]. Moreover, recent investigations have revealed that EOs possess promising biological properties, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antiviral effects [8; 10; 11; 12], recommending them as an alternative to synthetic food additives.  
The _Origanum_ (Lamiaceae) genus is an annual, perennial, and shrubby herb extensively found in the Mediterranean region [13]. _Origanum_ is classified into three groups, ten sections and thirty-eight species (six subspecies and seventeen hybrids) [14]. Two commercially important varieties, _Origanum vulgare_ subsp. _hitrum_ (Greek oregano) and _Origanum onites_ (Turkish oregano) are also among the most marketed and used spice plants [14; 15; 16]. The flavoring properties of oregano are mainly associated with its aromatic substances, especially its EO [14; 17]. Carvacrol is the main volatile oil compound in oregano herbs, responsible for the characteristic \"oregano\" scent. Other compounds that dominate the EOs of genus members are thymol, para-cymene, and gamma-terpinene. Several investigations reported that oregano oil has a powerful antimicrobial effect against bacteria, yeast, and fungi. Furthermore, EOs extracted from _Origanum_ sp. are known to possess cytotoxic activities against cancer cells, to protect cells from reactive oxygen species (ROS) degradation, and to generate an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory biological effect via key enzymes (lipoxygenase) inhibition [18; 19]. Also, oregano oil possesses antioxidant properties effective in slowing color loss and lipid oxidation in fatty foods and scavenging free radicals [20; 21; 22].  
However, some genus members remain insufficiently studied, such as _Origanum vulgare_ var. _aureum_ L., for which scientific literature provides insufficient data about its EO antioxidant properties. Furthermore, the probable mechanism of action against lipid oxidation of _Origanum vulgare_ var. _aureum_ essential oil (OEO) has not been investigated previously. Considering the background, we aimed to investigate the chemical composition and evaluate the antioxidant properties of OEO. Moreover, we aimed to analyze in silico the antioxidant biological effects based on the inhibitory capacity of OEO components against key enzymes involved in producing reactive oxygen species utilizing a molecular docking-based approach.