Essential Oils Found Antibiotic Against Tonsillitis Bacteria
Tonsillitis is an infection of the tonsil lymph nodes. Typically, the infection is caused by the bacteria species named Streptococcus pyogenes. Turns out essential oils can combat this infective bacteria.
The goal of any antibiotic therapy is to defeat such bacteria. Conventional medicine has typically treated tonsillitis with antibiotics. But today, many strains of Streptococcus pyogenes have become antibiotic resistant to many antibiotics.
The question is, how can one kill the Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria without antibiotics?
Essential oils kill Streptococcus pyogenes
Research from France’s University of Angers has determined that certain essential oils are effective in killing the bacteria known to cause tonsillitis.
The researchers utilized 18 different essential oils provided by a French manufacturer of essential oils (Pranarôm Science). The researchers tested essential oils of Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), Oregano (Origanum compactum), Thyme (Thymus vulgaris – two species), Winter Savory (Satureja montana), Clove (Eugenia caryophyllus), Palmarosa lemongrass (Cymbopogon martinii), Camphor (Cinnamomum camphora – two species), Peppermint (Mentha piperita), Marjoram (Origanum marjorana), Lavender (Lavandula stoechas), Cajeput (Melaleuca cajuputi), Tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia), Basil (Ocimum basilicum), Naiouli Tea tree (Melaleuca quinquenervia), and Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis).
The researchers extracted the bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes from the throat (pharynx) of a child who had tonsillitis. They incubated the bacteria and then tested each of the essential oils against it.
The researchers found 14 of the 18 essential oils had antibacterial activity against the Streptococcus pyogenes bacterial. Of these the Cinnamon oil, the Thyme oil, the Lemongrass oil, the Marjoram oil, and the Winter Savory oil had the greatest antibiotic activity against the tonsillitis bacteria S. pyogenes.
The zone of inhibition for these five oils with the most antibiotic potential ranged from 48 to 35 millimeters. (Note that the greater the zone of inhibition, the stronger the antibiotic potency.)
Two other oils – Clove oil and Palmarosa lemongrass oil – came in at 18 and 15 mm respectively. The remaining seven oils with antibiotic activity against the S. pyogenes ranged from 13 to 9 mm zone of inhibition. They were Camphor oil (CT linalool), Peppermint oil, Thyme oil (CT thujanol), Marjoram oil, Lavender oil, Cajeput oil, and Tea tree oil.
The obvious question is how this antibacterial activity, measured by inhibition zone, measures up against those of the most successful antibiotics. Well, a 2009 study published in the Journal of Bacteriology measured precisely that: The inhibition zones of the most popular antibiotics against Streptococcus pyogenes.
Zones of inhibition against S. pyogenes of Amoxicillin was 22.3 mm, Ampicillin 34.5 mm, Ampiciox 18.7 mm, Chloramphenicol 22.0 mm, Ciprofolxacin 30 mm, Erythromycin 14.5 mm, Fulcin 6.0 mm, Gentamicin 2.0 mm, Penicillin 39.0 mm, Rifampicin 27.0 mm, Septrin 19.0 mm, Tetracycline 10.5 mm, and Vancomycin 14.5 mm. The average Zone of inhibition for the entire range of 13 antibiotics against S. pyogenes was 20.1, and as mentioned, the greatest was Penicillin at 39.
This compares to zones of inhibition between 48 mm and 35 mm for the Cinnamon oil, the Thyme oil, the Lemongrass oil, the Marjoram oil, and the Winter Savory oil.
Antibiotics were also tested
And we must add to this that this study also tested antibiotics that many species of bacteria – including some S. pyogenes – have since become more resistant to. During these past four years, many of these pharmaceutical antibiotics have lost some of their antibiotic potency against S. pyogenes and other bacteria.
The researchers noted that the essential oils’ antibiotic mechanisms varied, and ranged from their monoterpene content, aldehydes such as cinnamaldehyde (Cinnamon), phenols such as thymol, carvacrol, eugenol and others, and many other compounds.
Other studies have also indicated some essential oils are significantly antibiotic. Thyme and Lavender oils in particular have been found to have significant activity against some bacteria. In 2011, Moroccan researchers also found that two species of Thyme essential oil were synergistic with antibiotic therapy.
Other essential oils fight viruses such as herpes according to other research.
Sfeir J, Lefrançois C, Baudoux D, Derbré S, Licznar P. In Vitro Antibacterial Activity of Essential Oils against Streptococcus pyogenes. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:269161.
Fadli M, Saad A, Sayadi S, Chevalier J, Mezrioui NE, Pagès JM, Hassani L. Antibacterial activity of Thymus maroccanus and Thymus broussonetii essential oils against nosocomial infection – bacteria and their synergistic potential with antibiotics. Phytomedicine. 2012 Mar 15;19(5):464-71.
Nkang AO, Okonko IO, Fowotade A, Udeze AO, Ogunnusi TA, Fajobi EA, Adewale OG, Mejeha OK. Antibiotics susceptibility profiles of bacteria from clinical samples in Calabar, Nigeria. Jnl Bacter. 2009 Nov 1(8):089-096.
Case Adams is a California Naturopath and a Board Certified Alternative Medicine Practitioner with a PhD in Natural Health Sciences. He has authored 26 books on natural healing strategies. “My journey into writing about alternative medicine began about 9:30 one evening after I finished with a patient at the clinic I practiced at over a decade ago. I had just spent the last two hours explaining how diet, sleep and other lifestyle choices create health problems and how changes in these, along with certain herbal medicines and other natural strategies can radically yet safely turn our health around. As I drove home that night, I realized this knowledge should be available to more people. So I began writing about health with a mission to reach those who desperately need this information. The strategies in my books and articles are backed by scientific evidence along with wisdom handed down through traditional medicines for thousands of years.”