Is oregano oil as a tincture effective against chronic Lyme? I don’t see it mentioned much…

I believe LLMD MR has oregano oil listed as part of a treatment plan.

Well then, apparently I was treating more than just Candida with it years ago. (!)

oregano is normally taken as an essential oil form for Lyme et al

it has been show in in vitro studies at Johns Hopkins university to have one of the strongest anti-borrelia effects of all natural substances tested so far - see work by Zhang et al

it is also being used to treat bartonella infections by many LLMD's - sometimes also in liposomal form where the doses can be lower due to better absorption - which tends to make it easier on the gut - as some find it hard to tolerate.

it is thought to have powerful anti persister cell and anti-biofilm effects - mainly i think due to the in vitro studies on borrelia

the main active component seems to be carvacrol - but there are likely others in the essential oil - thymol being one - which is also in cloves i believe - and these additional components may well be synergistic over pure carvacrol.

it is typically used in combination with other antimicrobials / antibiotics rather than as a stand alone monotherapy - and clinical indications are that this is where it is most effective.

doses can be hard to calculate due to the unregulated nature of the health food/supplements market - and most products are not in fact pure oil of oregano - but a blend of oil of oregano and a carrier oil - eg olive oil.
not all essential oils are safe for human consumption - ie intended for aromatherapy or other uses
so be sure to pick one that is
most good oil of oregano essential oils will state the carvacrol content - eg as a % or mg per ml or mg per drop etc so choose a product that does and read the label carefully

doses along side abx /other antimicrobials range from around 100mg carvacrol per day 300mg carvacrol per day
but many report v strong reactions / herx - and have to start much lower
i had to start on 1 drop (18mg carvacrol ) a day - and i am now 50+% recovered and only moderately sensitive

anyone who is more ill or more sensitive may well have to start even lower - eg 1 drop each 2 days

tinctures of oregano herb will be much less potent - typically i takes many kg's of a herb to make 1ml of essential oil
whereas it typically takes 500g of fresh herb to make around 500ml of tincture - so i would expect dosing to be at least an order of magnitude higher for tinctures