How does Marjoram work?

[Mrkindbud]

I was wondering what alkaloids are contained in Marjoram (not Marijuana), how it works on the body and brain, and the most effective ways to use it as medicine.

 

[DL-ark]

I was wondering what alkaloids are contained in Marjoram (not Marijuana), how it works on the body and brain, and the most effective ways to use it as medicine.

I don't think it works on the brain in any way... It contains a little camphor so maybe the essential oil would be a mild local anesthetic? What makes your think Marjoram, a commonly used spice in food has any activity?

 

[shamus]

Because most herbs have some activity.

I guess the qualifier you're looking for is 'psychoactive'.

The constituents of the oil are listed in here: http://www.aromaweb.com/essential-oils/marjoram-oil.asp

I'm sure between them there's some MAO or anxiolytic effect.

Oregano has such an effect, & the two are pretty similar http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=marjoram+monoamine

 

[DL-ark]

Because most herbs have some activity.

I guess the qualifier you're looking for is 'psychoactive'.

The constituents of the oil are listed in here: http://www.aromaweb.com/essential-oils/marjoram-oil.asp

I'm sure between them there's some MAO or anxiolytic effect.

Oregano has such an effect, & the two are pretty similar http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=marjoram+monoamine

But most spices dont have hugely appreciative activity, with some exceptions for nutmeg or the thujone in sage. Yes, most herbs have terpenes which have some biological activity, but often times their effects are negligible.