Himalayan oregano is just common Origanum vulgare growing in the Himalayas. A team comprising researchers from a UK university and members of local businesses and an NGO in India has discovered that the essential oil of Himalayan oregano has strong antibacterial properties and even kills the hospital superbug MRSA. They hope these findings will lead to the development of handsoaps and surface disinfectants in hospitals and other healthcare settings. Scientists already knew that Mediterranean oregano oil was a powerful antimicrobial, because of an essential compound called carvacol. But nobody had tested the Himalayan oregano oil before, said Ben Heron from Biolaya Organics, so they teamed up with SGS who run a lab in Delhi and found it contained as much carvacol as the Mediterranean one.