Savory (Satureja hortensis) Research

Latin Name: Satureja hortensis

Family: Lamiaceae

The listings of research below represent a compilation of scientific articles found on the species, with a very brief overview description of each article/study. Research found is catalogued by therapeutic action. This categorized compilation of research articles does not necessarily imply that there are adequate results to demonstrate safe and/or effective human use.

RESEARCH

SAFETY

• Savory is high in phenolic content, which can be toxic to the liver and irritating to the skin and mucous membranes.
• ​Not for use during pregnancy and breastfeeding, or with small children
• May interfer with certain medications such as diabetic meds, anticoagulants, bleeding disorders, and with surgery (Tisserand & Young, 2014).

GENERAL

• Tisserand, R. & Young, R.  (2014).  Essential Oil Safety.  Second Edition.  Churchill, Livingstone, Elsevier.

ANTIMICROBIAL / ANTIFUNGAL / ANTIBACTERIAL

• Satureja hortensis and Origanum vulgare, and their carvacrol constituent were antibacterial against Helicobacter pylori in vitro.  From:  Lesjak, M., Simin, N., Orcic, D., Franciskovic, M., Knezevic, P., Beara, I., … & Mimica‐Dukic, N. (2016). Binary and tertiary mixtures of Satureja hortensis and Origanum vulgare essential oils as potent antimicrobial agents against Helicobacter pylori. Phytotherapy research, 30(3), 476-484.
• Inhibition of 45 oils on eight bacteria (four Gram positive and four Gram negative), two fungi, and one yeast were examined using disk assay.  Cinnamomum zeylanicum and Melaleuca alternifolia showed an inhibition against all test organisms and phage. Coriandrum sativum highly inhibited Gram positive bacteria and fungi. Cymbopogon flexuosus and Chamaemelum nobile oils highly inhibited both phage types. Angelica archangelica and Pinus sylvestris inhibited bacteria, but not any fungi. Oils with the highest antimicrobial abilities with the broadest range of inhibition were cinnamon bark (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus), savory (Satureja montana), Roman chamomile (Cbamaemelum nobile), rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora), spearmint (Mentha spicata) and tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia).  From:  Chao, S. C., Young, D. G., & Oberg, C. J. (2000). Screening for inhibitory activity of essential oils on selected bacteria, fungi and viruses. Journal of Essential Oil Research, 12(5), 639-649.
• Essential oil of S. hortensis had great potential antimicrobial activities against all 23 bacteria and 15 fungi and yeast.  From:  Güllüce, M., Sökmen, M., Daferera, D., Agar, G., Özkan, H., Kartal, N., … & Sahin, F. (2003). In vitro antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant activities of the essential oil and methanol extracts of herbal parts and callus cultures of Satureja hortensis L. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 51(14), 3958-3965.
• The following essential oils demonstrated an antimicrobial effect:  Satureja montana (winter savory), Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary), Thymus vulgaris (thyme), and Calamintha nepeta (calamint).  From:  Panizzi, L., Flamini, G., Cioni, P. L., & Morelli, I. (1993). Composition and antimicrobial properties of essential oils of four Mediterranean Lamiaceae. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 39(3), 167-170.
• Of the five oils tested, Trachyspermum ammi (caraway) and Satureja hortensis (savory) revealed the strongest antibacterial activity against both gram negative and gram positive food-borne pathogens and spoilage bacteria.  Mentha piperita (peppermint), Lippia citrodora (lemon verbena), and Foeniculum vulgare (fennel) also showed some antibacterial activity.  From:  Moosavi-Nasab, M., Jamal Saharkhiz, M., Ziaee, E., Moayedi, F., Koshani, R., & Azizi, R. (2016). Chemical compositions and antibacterial activities of five selected aromatic plants essential oils against food-borne pathogens and spoilage bacteria. Journal of Essential Oil Research, 28(3), 241-251.
• In a study of 30 different vaginal isolated strains of C. albicans to twelve essential oils, compared to the three of the mainly used drugs (clotrimazole, fluconazole, itraconazole), mint, basil, lavender, tea tree oil, winter savory and oregano essential oils inhibited both the growth and the activity of C. albicans more efficiently than clotrimazole.  From:  Bona, E., Cantamessa, S., Pavan, M., Novello, G., Massa, N., Rocchetti, A., … & Gamalero, E. (2016). Sensitivity of Candida albicans to essential oils: are they an alternative to antifungal agents?. Journal of Applied Microbiology.
• Sixteen essential oils and forty-two pure constituents were tested against Candida albicans. Origanum vulgare, Satureja montana, Mentha piperita, Cinnamomum verum, and Cymbopogon flexuosus along with the  pure constituents (by family) of , β-phellandrene, carvacrol, 1-decanol, and trans-cynnamaldehyde.  From:  Tampieri, M. P., Galuppi, R., Macchioni, F., Carelle, M. S., Falcioni, L., Cioni, P. L., & Morelli, I. (2005). The inhibition of Candida albicans by selected essential oils and their major components. Mycopathologia, 159(3), 339-345.
• A variety of 31 essential oils were tested against over 600 vaginal organisms with spanish oregano, ceylon cinnamon, Chinese cinnamon, thyme, savory, creeping thyme and turpentine resin showing the strongest activity.  From:  Arnal-Schnebelen, B., Hadji-Minaglou, F., Peroteau, J. F., Ribeyre, F., & De Billerbeck, V. G. (2004). Essential oils in infectious gynaecological disease: a statistical study of 658 cases. International Journal of Aromatherapy, 14(4), 192-197.
• Nine plant spice essential oils were tested on various microorganisms (Salmonella typhimurium, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Yersinia enterocolitica, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida rugosa, Rhizopus oryzae and Aspergillus niger and showed antimicrobial activity and may be used to combat pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms, and improve shelf-life of foods.  They included: savory, laurel, oregano, basil, cumin, sea fennel, myrtle,and mint.  From:  Özcan, M., & Erkmen, O. (2001). Antimicrobial activity of the essential oils of Turkish plant spices. European Food Research and Technology, 212(6), 658-660
• Cinnamon, oregano, savory, thyme, clove, lemongrass, cajuput, and allspice showed antibacterial activity against meat spoilage bacteria.  From:  Oussalah, M., Caillet, S., Saucier, L., & Lacroix, M. (2006). Antimicrobial effects of selected plant essential oils on the growth of a Pseudomonas putida strain isolated from meat. Meat science, 73(2), 236-244.
• Melissa, grapefruit mint, peppermint, basil, perilla, prunella, and winter savory showed potent anti-HIV-1 activity. From:  Yamasaki, K., Nakano, M., Kawahata, T., MORI, H., OTAKE, T., UEDA, N., … & MURATA, H. (1998). Anti-HIV-1 activity of herbs in Labiatae. Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin, 21(8), 829-833.   an, M. (2005). Antifungal effect of some spice hydrosols. Fitoterapia, 76(7), 661-665.

ACARACIDAL

• Carvacrol and y-terpene constituents from Satureja thymbra (winter savory) killed ticks.   From:  Cetin, H., Cilek, J. E., Oz, E., Aydin, L., Deveci, O., & Yanikoglu, A. (2010). Acaricidal activity of Satureja thymbra L. essential oil and its major components, carvacrol and γ-terpinene against adult Hyalomma marginatum (Acari: Ixodidae). Veterinary parasitology, 170(3), 287-290.
• Thyme, savory and spearmint were active against the mite: varroa, without being toxic to honeybee colonies. From:  Ariana, A., Ebadi, R., & Tahmasebi, G. (2002). Laboratory evaluation of some plant essences to control Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae). Experimental and Applied Acarology, 27(4), 319-327.

CARDIAC HEALTH

• A. dracunculus (tarragon), S. hortensis (summer savory) and O. majorana (marjoram) at a concentration of 200 μg/mL, inhibited platelet adhesion in vitro.  From:  Yazdanparast, R., & Shahriyary, L. (2008). Comparative effects of Artemisia dracunculus, Satureja hortensis and Origanum majorana on inhibition of blood platelet adhesion, aggregation and secretion. Vascular pharmacology, 48(1), 32-37.

​GREEN GARDENING

• Rosemary and its constituents showed strong activity against weed germination.  Savory also had an effect.  From:  Angelini, L. G., Carpanese, G., Cioni, P. L., Morelli, I., Macchia, M., & Flamini, G. (2003). Essential oils from Mediterranean Lamiaceae as weed germination inhibitors. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 51(21), 6158-6164.

ANTIOXIDANT

• Species of thyme, savory, sweet marjoram, and oregano showed varying types of antioxidant abilities.  From:  Dorman, H. D., Bachmayer, O., Kosar, M., & Hiltunen, R. (2004). Antioxidant properties of aqueous extracts from selected Lamiaceae species grown in Turkey. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 52(4), 762-770.
• Using a smaller particle size increased antioxidant power in extracts made from agrimony, sage and savoury.  From:  Gião, M. S., Pereira, C. I., Fonseca, S. C., Pintado, M. E., & Malcata, F. X. (2009). Effect of particle size upon the extent of extraction of antioxidant power from the plants Agrimonia eupatoria, Salvia sp. and Satureja montana. Food Chemistry, 117(3), 412-416.

DIURETIC

• A compilation of research showed the following herbs to have a diuretic effect:  yarrow, lemon verbena, pineapple, dill, gorden asparagus, mugwort, oats, barberry, Indian tree, turnip, marigold, chicory, lemon, cucumber, pumpkin seed, quince, carrot, flAx weed, horsetail, asafetida, fig, barely, St. John’s wort, bay, alfalfa, European pennyroyal, mulberry, water cress, catnip, black cumin, parsley, green bean, pistachio, cherry, pomegranate, purstane, savory, tomato, brinjal, tea, haritali, coltsfoot, nettle, bell bean, and corn.  From:  Rouhi-Boroujeni, H., Rouhi-Boroujeni, H., Khoddami, M., Khazraei, H. R., Dehkordil, E. B., & Rafieian-Kopaei, M. (2017). Hypolipidemic herbals with diuretic effects: A systematic review. In Biol. Sci (Vol. 8, pp. 21-28).

ANALGESIC

• Research on analgesic activities of essential oils is reviewed. Included is: wild caraway (Bunium persicum ), lemon (Citrus limon), lemongrass (Cymbopogon citrates), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus citriodora), clove (Eugenia caryophyllata), hogweed (Heracleum persicum), Hofmeisteria schaffneri, bushmint (Hyptis fruticosa), star anise (Illicum lanceolatum), verbenea (Lippia gracilis), chamomile (Matricaria recutita), Cuban mint (Mentha x villosa), catmint (Nepeta crispa Willd), basil (Ocimum basilicum), Peperomia serpens, Pimenta pseudocaryophyllus, long pepper (Piper alyreanum), Summer savory (Satureja hortensis), Senecio rufinervis, Tetradenia riparia, Teucrium stocksianum, Ugni myricoides, valerian (Valeriana wallichii), Xylopia laevigata, and candeeiro (Vanillosmopsis arborea). From: Sarmento-Neto, J., do Nascimento, L., Felipe, C., & de Sousa, D. (2015). Analgesic potential of essential oils. Molecules, 21(1), 20.

By: Kathy Sadowski

Updated: 7/23/19