Winter savory, scientific name satureja montana, is a plant of the Lamiaceae family. From the steam distillation of the herb an essential oil with interesting properties is obtained. So let's see the uses and applications of winter savory essential oil. However, this essential oil should not be used in pregnancy and on children.
Essential oil of winter savory, properties
Essential oil of winter savory is rich in phenolic compounds such as carvacrol, almost 60%, and thymol, 20% (Vidic et al, Journal of essential oil bearing plants, 2009). Thanks to these active ingredients, winter savory oil proves to be antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antifungal and antimicrobial (Serrano et al, J Sci Food Agric, 2011). Indeed, it has been shown that this essential oil is effective in counteracting Candida fungus (Aluyor et al, ScienceDirect, 2015). But the essential oil of winter savory also contains other active ingredients, such as p cymene, which is characterized by an analgesic action (Maccelli et al, Pharmaceutics, 2020). Do not forget the protective action of winter savory on the brain, since, like other plants of the Lamiaceae family, such as peppermint or salvia officinalis, it acts as an inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase or ACE, thus being useful in case of Alzheimer's disease but also senile dementia and Parkinson's, since ACE inhibitors are used to treat this type of disorders (Vladimir-Kneževi? et al, Molecules, 2014). Clearly, the essential oil of winter savory cannot replace a drug therapy but certainly this research makes us understand the power of this essential oil and its possible future usefulness in combination with medicines. Finally, winter savory oil stimulates the immune system and is also useful in counteracting cough and respiratory tract diseases (Tsioutsiou et al, Evid Based Complement Alternat Med., 2019).
Winter savory essential oil, uses
Winter savory oil can help relieve muscle and rheumatic pain (Aluyor et al, ScienceDirect, 2015). To do this, pour a plant based oil, such as sweet almond oil, into a 50 ml bottle. Add 10 drops of winter savory essential oil and use a few drops of this lotion to do analgesic, antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory massages, also useful in case of stomach pain or cough. Alternatively, you can add a handful of sea salt on which you have poured a dozen drops of winter savory essential oil to the bath water, stay in for a quarter of an hour. As a disinfectant, winter savory is a help in case of sore throat, canker sores and irritation of the oral cavity. In a glass of water dilute 5-6 drops of winter savory essential oil and use to gargle and rinse. Finally, for the well-being of the skin, in case of acne, blackheads and irritations you can add a drop of this essential oil to a pinch of your face cream and apply on the skin.
