Researchers have found that some essential oils, oregano, thyme and rosewood oils,
in particular, create an autolytic reaction in organisms, including Streptococcus pneumonia.
Dr. Diane Horne of Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, told the 98th general assembly of
the American Society of Microbiology about the serendipitous discovery of the impact of the
oils on cells such as Streptococcus pneumonia.
 
A co-researcher was spraying aromatic oils in the laboratory. "When I looked at the S. pneumonia
that I was preparing for another experiment, the cells were just falling apart," Dr. Horne reported.
Dr. Horne and coworker Sue Chao, of the Young Living Essential Oil Company of Payton, Utah,
tested the autolyzing properties of 74 different essential oils.
 
The best results occurred with oregano, thyme and rosewood and intermediate inhibition of the
pathogens was achieved with cinnamon oil and clove oil, Dr. Horne said at a poster presentation
at the meeting. Dr. Horne pointed out that the oils also showed efficacy against E. coli and several
species of fungi.

COMMENT: It is amazing what one can do with herbs. This is a wonderful piece of research
documenting the effectiveness of oregano. It is still not to late to get your garden up and running
and plant some oregano. Oregano is a hardy perennial. For you non-gardening types, that means
this plant will return year after year and provide you with a natural, inexpensive way to stay healthy.
 It is a bit late to plant seeds for the season but you can get some good plants from any nursery. I would
recommend the Greek oregano which only grows about 18 inches tall. Avoid the taller 4 foot plants
(Oregano vulgare) as they do not have as much of the effective essential oils.
( this is a fun plant to grow I have several at my store and home.  I love our essential oils and the
research that has been done by Dr. Sue Chao is phenominal--this is why I call this company my
herbal liquid pharmacy-- Care to learn more  see below on my signature line.
 
STREPTOCOCCUS PNEUMONIAE 
S. pneumoniae (figure 1) is a leading cause of pneumonia in all ages (particularly the young and old),
often after "damage" to the upper respiratory tract (e.g. following viral infection). It also causes middle
ear infections (otitis media). The organism often spreads causing bacteremia and meningitis. S. pneumoniae
is α hemolytic and there is no group antigen.
 
Direct Gram staining or detection of capsular antigen in sputum can be diagnostic. The organism grows well
on sheep blood agar.

Autolysin Pneumococci are identified by solubility in bile. An autolysin (peptidoglycan-degrading enzyme) is released
by bile from the cell membrane and binds to a choline-containing teichoic acid attached to the peptidoglycan.
The autolysin then digests the bacterial cell wall resulting in lysis of the cell. If the cells are grown in ethano-
lamine instead of choline, ethanolamine is incorporated into the teichoic acid. The autolysin then cannot lyse
 the cell wall. Understanding how the autolysin works has led to the suggestion that antibiotics (including
penicillin) work together with the autolysin in killing of pneumococci in vivo.
The organisms are also identified by susceptibility to optochin (ethyl hydrocupreine) (figure 2)
Capsule

This is highly prominent in virulent strains (figure 1c) and its carbohydrate antigens vary greatly in structure
among strains. The capsule is anti-phagocytic and immunization is primarily against the capsule. Capsular
vaccines are available for susceptible individuals; immunity is serotype-specific. Using appropriate type-specific
antisera, the capsule on isolated bacteria can be "fixed" and becomes visible microscopically (the Quellung
reaction) which is useful in microbial identification.
 
The organism also produces pneumolysin that degrades red blood cells under anaerobic conditions
(observed as α hemolysis).
 
Complement activation by teichoic acid may explain the attraction of large numbers of inflammatory cells
to the focal site of infection.

Most strains of S. pneumoniae are susceptible to penicillin. However, resistance is quite common.
This was taken from this location http://pathmicro.med.sc.edu/fox/strep-staph.htm
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************
Don't you just love the net it has many things you can research if you like -  But for those that are new I do
strongly recommend our own research  it is a magnificent book called the Essential Oil Desk Reference
this is a must and can be purchased at this location www.essentialscience.net --- 
 *********************************************************************************************************************************
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streptococcus_pneumoniae-- Is the reference location of the below article. -  It is amazing
the power of our YL oils and there is no reason that every family should not have them in their home.  Look at what one
drop of oregano cost ($.12) compared to the office call.-
STREPTOCOCCUS PNEUMONIAE 

S. pneumoniae (figure 1) is a leading cause of pneumonia in all ages (particularly the young and old), often after
"damage" to the upper respiratory tract (e.g. following viral infection). It also causes middle ear infections (otitis media).
The organism often spreads causing bacteremia and meningitis. S. pneumoniae is α hemolytic and there is no group antigen.
Direct Gram staining or detection of capsular antigen in sputum can be diagnostic.
 
The organism grows well on sheep blood agar. Autolysin Pneumococci are identified by solubility in bile. An autolysin (peptidoglycan-degrading enzyme) is released
by bile from the cell membrane and binds to a choline-containing teichoic acid attached to the peptidoglycan.
The autolysin then digests the bacterial cell wall resulting in lysis of the cell. If the cells are grown in ethano-
lamine instead of choline, ethanolamine is incorporated into the teichoic acid. The autolysin then cannot lyse
the cell wall. Understanding how the autolysin works has led to the suggestion that antibiotics (including
penicillin) work together with the autolysin in killing of pneumococci in vivo.
 
The organisms are also identified by susceptibility to optochin (ethyl hydrocupreine) (figure 2)
Capsule

This is highly prominent in virulent strains (figure 1c) and its carbohydrate antigens vary greatly in structure
among strains. The capsule is anti-phagocytic and immunization is primarily against the capsule. Capsular
vaccines are available for susceptible individuals; immunity is serotype-specific. Using appropriate type-
specific antisera, the capsule on isolated bacteria can be "fixed" and becomes visible microscopically
(the Quellung reaction) which is useful in microbial identification.
 
The organism also produces pneumolysin that degrades red blood cells under anaerobic conditions
(observed as α hemolysis).
 
Complement activation by teichoic acid may explain the attraction of large numbers of inflammatory
cells to the focal site of infection.
 
Most strains of S. pneumoniae are susceptible to penicillin. However, resistance is quite common.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Below are tests done and several Young Living Oils that Joy Lindsy sent us a while back.
 
LABORATORY TEST RESULTS USING YLEOs FOR MRSA, E-COLI, AND ACINETOBACTER BACTERIA
 
One of our very skilled and credentialed team members, clinical microbiologist Mary Anne Mathewson from San Diego, did some testing in her lab a few months ago to check out several YLEOs for her neighbor's toddler who was diagnosed with MRSA, and whose parents had tried all sorts of medications to no avail. I wrote about it at the time, but was unable to transfer the pictures in her excellent report to e-mail. I have continued to work on it, and I believe you will now be able to receive the full report, pictures included.
 
Many thanks to members like Mary Anne, who continue to prove to those who are not knowledgeable yet about the power of therapeutic-grade oils, just how potent and viable they are. I understand that Mary Anne's neighbor did use Oregano and Thyme successfully after seeing these test results.
 
Here is her report:
 
The Power of Young Living Therapeutic Essential Oils
 
I am a clinical microbiologist and have worked in hospital settings for the past 25 years. I have witnessed the steady increase in antibiotic resistant strains of various bacteria. The bacteria are able to quickly transfer resistance from one strain to the other. The resistant strains are not only hospital acquired, but are now found within the community; day care centers, military recruits, gym locker rooms, chronic care facilities. The New England Journal of Medicine April 7th, 2005 sites the growing prevalence of Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in cities across the US.
 
Some of the infections have been associated with necrotizing fasciitis.
 
There is an ever-increasing need for us to fortify our immune systems, as well as look to natural methods to support and protect our bodies and maintain the balance of nature. The bugs are outsmarting the drugs!
 
I chose to investigate the affect of therapeutic grade Young Living essential oils, all of which have been frequency tested. This means they must conform with the AFNOR (French Association of Normalization) standards for therapeutic-grade essential oils. These oils are steamed distilled at low pressure and temperature. This preserves the complex chemical constituents of the oils. The plants harvested have been grown on organic farms without pesticides, herbicides or fungicides and are free of any synthetic chemicals. The oils I tested are Thyme (Thymus vulgaris), Oregano (Oreganum compactum), Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens),Tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) and Thieves (a blend of clove, lemon, cinammon, eucalyptus and rosemary).
 
I tested these oils with these three bacteria: Methicillin-resistant Stapylococcus aureus (MRSA), Escherichia coli (the most common cause of urinary tract infections), Acinetobacter calcoaceticus (cause of many nosocomial, hospital acquired infections).
 
Procedure: A 1/2 McFarland suspension of each bacteria was made in tryptic soy broth.
A blood agar plate was completely covered with the bacteria. A 50 microliter sample of oil, equivalent to one large drop, was inoculated onto each individual plate. Olive oil was used as a control. The plates were then incubated for 24 hours in a non-carbon-dioxide2 incubator. Pictures were taken after 24 hours. Four days later, measurements were taken of the area where there was no growth of the bacteria.
 
RESULTS: When viewing the pictures, note the white to gray area is bacterial growth.
Note: each oil caused inhibition of bacterial growth on the plate.
 
                 Area of inhibition
                          MRSA
 
Olive Oil         Oregano      Thyme  
 
Thieves        Geranium     Melaleuca 
                                                               
Thyme                                       100%  
Oregano                                    100%
Geranium                             1 3/4 inch
Melaleuca                             1 1/2 inch
Thieves blend                      1 1/4 inch
                          <><><>
 
  Area of inhibition               E. Coli
 
  Olive Oil         Oregano       Thyme
 
Thieves         Geranium        Melaleuca
 
Thyme                                     100%
Oregano                                  100%
Geranium                             3/4 inch
Melaleuca                          2 1/2 inches
Thieves blend                   1 1/2 inches
                         <><><>
 
Area of inhibition        Acinetobacter
 
Olive Oil         Oregano        Thyme
 
Thieves        Geranium       Melaleuca
 
Thyme                                    100%
Oregano                                   95%
Geranium                          1 1/8 inch
Melaleuca                             7/8 inch
Thieves blend                        2.0 inches
                        <><><>
 
CONCLUSION: Thyme and Oregano are consistently the most effective in inhibiting the growth of all three bacteria; MRSA, Escherichia coli, and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus.
 
Geranium is second in inhibition to thyme and oregano, when in contact with MRSA.
Melaleuca alternifolia is second in inhibition to thyme and oregano when in contact with Escherichia coli. Thieves blend is second in inhibition to thyme and oregano when in contact with Acinetobacter calcoaceticus.
 
Bactericidal activity of the oils has not been verified, but this work shows the strong antibacterial powers of two oils in particular; Thyme and Oregano. Each oil has unique chemical constituents. Thyme contains 59-90% alcohols and 12-21% monoterpenes. Oregano contains 60-80% phenols and 10-25% monoterpenes.
 
These constituents contribute to their antibacterial activity. These oils can be diffused, taken internally in gel capsules and placed topically on the body, including the feet. These two oils should be diluted 20-80 (one part essential oil to four parts vegetable or massage oil). These findings confirm what is already in the literature. Essential oils, the life- blood of the plant, are antibacterial.
 
These oils are Gods gift of healing to us. I love to share my passion and love of essential oils.
 
Sincerely,
 
To Your Optimum Health
Mary Anne Mathewson, CLS, ASCP