Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) Research

Latin Name: Hyssopus officinalis

Family: Lamiaceae

RESEARCH

GENERAL

• WebMD.  (n.d.).  Hyssop.  Retrieved in December, 2016.  Retrieved from www.webmd.com
• NAHA (n.d.).  Safety.  Retrieved in February, 2018.  Retrieved from:  http://naha.org/explore-aromatherapy/safety
• ACHS (2017).  Course Material: Herb 502, Hyssop Monograph.  www.achs.edu
• Petersen, D. (2015). Aromatherapy materia medica.  Essential oil monographs.  American College of Healthcare Sciences.​  www.achs.edu
• Tisserand, R. & Young, R. (2014).  Essential Oil Safety.  Second Edition.  Churchill, Livingstone, Elsevier.
• Natural Standard (2015). Hyssop Monograph. www.naturalstandard.com.

SAFETY

• Unsafe to use during pregnancy (NAHA.org)
• Unsafe while breastfeeding, and for use with young children.
• NOT for internal use, can cause convulsions (Tisserand & Young, 2014).
• ​Can cause seizures in children and those with a predisposition (WebMD)
• Sage, cedar, thuja, and hyssop essential oil showed convulsant and neurotoxic activity in mice related to the constituents camphor, thujone, thuja, and pinocamphone.  From:  Millet, Y., Jouglard, J., Steinmetz, M. D., Tognetti, P., Joanny, P., & Arditti, J. (1981). Toxicity of some essential plant oils. Clinical and experimental study. Clinical toxicology, 18(12), 1485-1498.
• Toxic induced seizures from the following plants was reported:  eucalyptus, fennel, hyssop, pennyroyal, rosemary, sage, savin, tansy, thuja, turpentine, and wormwood.  Ketone constituents including camphor, pinocamphone, thujone, cineole, pulegone, sabinylacetate, and fenchone were mentioned.From:  Burkhard, P. R., Burkhardt, K., Haenggeli, C. A., & Landis, T. (1999). Plant-induced seizures: reappearance of an old problem. Journal of neurology, 246(8), 667-670.

ANTIOXIDANT

• Hyssopus officinalis (hyssop), Ocimum basilicum (basil), and Teucrium chamaedrys (wall germander) demonstrated antioxidant and antimicrobial benefits.  From:  Vlase, L., Benedec, D., Hanganu, D., Damian, G., Csillag, I., Sevastre, B., … & Tilea, I. (2014). Evaluation of antioxidant and antimicrobial activities and phenolic profile for Hyssopus officinalis, Ocimum basilicum and Teucrium chamaedrys. Molecules, 19(5), 5490-5507.
• Hyssop, basil and wall germander may be considered a potential source of polyphenols with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.  From:  Vlase, L., Benedec, D., Hanganu, D., Damian, G., Csillag, I., Sevastre, B., … & Tilea, I. (2014). Evaluation of antioxidant and antimicrobial activities and phenolic profile for Hyssopus officinalis, Ocimum basilicum and Teucrium chamaedrys. Molecules, 19(5), 5490-5507.
• Origanum vulgare, Melissa officinalis, Rosmarinus officinalis, Ocimum basilicum, Salvia officinalis, and Hyssopus officinalis were test and O. vulgare extracts exhibited the highest antioxidant capacity, and the highest rosmarinic acid and polyphenolic contents. L. monocytogenes, S. aureus and C. albicans were pathogens affected by all six extracts.  From:  Benedec, D., Hanganu, D., Oniga, I., Tiperciuc, B., Olah, N. K., Raita, O., … & Vlase, L. (2015). Assessment of rosmarinic acid content in six Lamiaceae species extracts and their antioxidant and antimicrobial potential. Pak. J. Pharm. Sci, 28(6), 2297-2303.

ANTIMICROBIAL / ANTIVIRAL / ANTIFUNGAL

• Ginger, thyme, hyssop, and sandalwood essential oils exhibited high levels of virucidal activity against herpes type one.  From:  Schnitzler, P., Koch, C., & Reichling, J. (2007). Susceptibility of drug-resistant clinical herpes simplex virus type 1 strains to essential oils of ginger, thyme, hyssop, and sandalwood. Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy, 51(5), 1859-1862.
• Hyssop extract showed anti-HIV activity.  From:  Kreis, W., Kaplan, M. H., Freeman, J., Sun, D. K., & Sarin, P. S. (1990). Inhibition of HIV replication by Hyssop officinalis extracts. Antiviral research, 14(6), 323-337.  L
• A polysaccharide found in Hyssop had strong anti-HIV-1 activity. From:  Gollapudi, S., Sharma, H. A., Aggarwal, S., Byers, L. D., Ensley, H. E., & Gupta, S. (1995). Isolation of a previously unidentified polysaccharide (MAR-10) from Hyssop officinalis that exhibits strong activity against human immunodeficiency virus type 1. Biochemical and biophysical research communications, 210(1), 145-151.   ​
• Roman chamomile, curry plant, hyssop, lavandin, marjoram sweet, orange mint, spearmint, monarda, oregano, rosemary, rue sage, tansy, tarragon, thyme common and yarrow showed vapour activity against the fungi that causes ringworm. From:  Inouye, S., Uchida, K., & Abe, S. (2006). Volatile composition and vapour activity against Trichophyton mentagrophytes of 36 aromatic herbs cultivated in Chichibu district in Japan. International Journal of Aromatherapy, 16(3), 159-168.
• Antioxidant and antihemolytic activities of hyssop were demonstrated in vitro.  From:  Alinezhad, H., Azimi, R., Zare, M., Ebrahimzadeh, M. A., Eslami, S., Nabavi, S. F., & Nabavi, S. M. (2013). Antioxidant and antihemolytic activities of ethanolic extract of flowers, leaves, and stems of Hyssopus officinalis L. Var. angustifolius. International Journal of Food Properties, 16(5), 1169-1178.
• Hyssop was antifungal against multiple candida species in vitro.  From:  Hristova, Y., Wanner, J., Jirovetz, L., Stappen, I., Iliev, I., & Gochev, V. (2015). Chemical composition and antifungal activity of essential oil of Hyssopus officinalis L. from Bulgaria against clinical isolates of Candida species. Biotechnology & Biotechnological Equipment, 29(3), 592-601.
• An essential oil blend with a Greek hyssop, sage, and marjoram essential oil was virucidal against influenza viruses and the rhinovirus in vitro. From: Tseliou, M., Pirintsos, S. A., Lionis, C., Castanas, E., & Sourvinos, G. (2019). Antiviral effect of an essential oil combination derived from three aromatic plants (Coridothymus capitatus (L.) Rchb. f., Origanum dictamnus L. and Salvia fruticosa Mill.) against viruses causing infections of the upper respiratory tract. Journal of Herbal Medicine, 17, 100288.

ANTHELMINTIC

• Hyssop showed anthelmintic activity against chicken worms.  From:  Hilal, S. H., El Alfy, T. S., & El Sherei, M. M. (1978). Investigation of the volatile oil of Hyssopus officinalis L.[Herbaceous ornamental; to study the effect of volatile oil against chicken worms (Ascaridia galli); in Egypt]. Egyptian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

MUSCLE RELAXANT

• Hyssop essential oil and its constituent isopinocamphone had a muscle relaxing action on the intestine in vitro.  From:  Lu, M., Battinelli, L., Daniele, C., Melchioni, C., Salvatore, G., & Mazzanti, G. (2002). Muscle relaxing activity of Hyssopus officinalis essential oil on isolated intestinal preparations. Planta medica, 68(03), 213-216.
• Hyssop and its linalool constituent showed spasmolytic action on guinea pig ileum.  From:  Mazzanti, G., Lu, M., & Salvatore, G. (1998). Spasmolytic action of the essential oil from Hyssopus officinalis L. var. decumbens and its major components. Phytotherapy research, 12(S1).

SEDATIVE

• Inhalation of lavender and hyssop oil decreased mobility in mice that were treated with caffeine. Inhalation of ginger, thyme, peppermint, and cypress oil increased mobility.  From:  Lim, W. C., Seo, J. M., Lee, C. I., Pyo, H. B., & Lee, B. C. (2005). Stimulative and sedative effects of essential oils upon inhalation in mice. Archives of pharmacal research, 28(7), 770-774.

Compiled by: Kathy Sadowski

Last Updated: 2/19/2020