When oregano oil was combined with blue light (405 nm), it killed drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria over 7 million times more effectively than either treatment alone. The combo also cleared bacterial infections in burn wounds on mice without harming healthy skin. The active ingredients doing the work: carvacrol and thymol, compounds naturally found in oregano.

Researchers tested oregano essential oil paired with specific blue light wavelengths against resistant bacteria in lab cultures and in infected burn wounds on mice, measuring bacterial reduction and skin safety.

Funding not disclosed in abstract