If you’ve read any of my books, especially my last one, Do It Gorgeously, you’ll know that I’m a huge proponent of essential oils. Having studied aromatherapy, I know that hundreds of essential oils are anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-germicidal etc. It came as no surprise that studies have just recently found that coriander oil could be used to cure a host of infections including food poisoning and the superbug MRSA.
The herb extract is resistant to a range of toxic bacteria which cause infections that are resistant to drugs, a study has found.
Portuguese scientists tested samples of the oil – taken from the seeds of a coriander plant – against 12 lethal bacteria.
All showed reduced growth and most were killed by a solution containing less than 1.6 per cent of the oil.
The team from the University of Beira Interior found the oil attacks and kills the outer membrane of bacteria cells, including salmonella, E.coli and MRSA.
Dr Fernanda Domingues, who co-authored the study, said coriander oil could help the millions who suffer from food-borne illnesses every year.
‘It could become a natural alternative to common antibiotics,’ she said.
‘We envisage the use of coriander in lotions, mouth rinses and even pills, to fight multidrug-resistant bacterial infections that otherwise could not be treated.
Dr Domingues explained how the oil works by saying: ‘It disrupts the barrier between the [membrane of bacteria] cell and its environment and inhibits essential processes including respiration, which ultimately leads to the death of the bacterial cell.’
There are 20 – 40 thousand deaths per year from MRSA – so this is great news that there is a potential cure with no side effects.
I highly recommend keeping the following essential oils in your bathroom cabinet, as they have many First Aid uses: Tea Tree, Oregano, Coriander Seed, Rosemary, and Lavender. You need to make sure the purity and the quality of the oils is top notch or the medicinal benefits will be negated. I highly recommend purchasing your oils from Mountain Rose Herbs.
But the authors say more research is needed into how it would be developed into a drug.
Coriander is widely used in Mediterranean and Asian cuisine.
It has been known as a medicinal plant since ancient times but the mechanism by which it works was not previously understood, says the study, published today in the Journal of Medical Microbiology.
Hugh Pennington, former emeritus professor of bacteriology at Aberdeen University said: ‘We have known about the antibacterial properties for a long, long time, but the difficulty in medicine is getting them to the right place to treat salmonella, or MRSA in your hip or whatever.
‘Unless it can do that, the discovery is not fantastically important.’
