Recipe
Diktamos — Cretan dittany tea
- Herb:
- Dittany of Crete Origanum dictamnus
- Method:
- Herbal infusion (tea)
- Plant part:
- Leaf
About 10 minBeginnerRecipe science profile
Procedure
- Pour 250 ml of boiling water over a teaspoon of dried Cretan dittany herb.
- Cover and steep 5–8 minutes, then strain.
- Add honey to taste; Cretans drink diktamos plain and hot, often with a drop of raki.
- 1–2 cups a day with a cold or after a heavy meal.
Extraction
- Herb:
- 1 lžička (asi 1,5 g) sušené natě na 250 ml
- Solvent:
- vroucí voda, 5–8 minut pod pokličkou
- Shelf life:
- vypít do 12 hodin
- Target compounds:
- silice s karvakrolem a p-cymenem a flavonoidy přecházejí do horké vody; nálev voní po dobromysli
Notes
A traditional drink per EMA HMPC for coughs with a cold and mild digestive complaints. Not in pregnancy (traditional caution and EMA alike), not for children under 12. Buy only cultivated — wild plants on the Cretan cliffs are protected.
Why it works
Cretan dittany contains an oil with carvacrol and p-cymene, the same compounds as oregano, plus flavonoids and phenolic acids; the review by Liolios et al. 2010 summarises their antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity from the laboratory. EMA HMPC recognises the herb for traditional use in coughs, digestive complaints and externally on the skin solely on the basis of centuries of tradition — clinical trials do not exist.
Literature
- EMA HMPC: Origani dictamni herba — European Union herbal monograph — Tradiční použití při kašli z nachlazení, lehkých trávicích obtížích a zevně na drobné záněty kůže.
- Liolios CC, Graikou K, Skaltsa E, Chinou I (2010): Dittany of Crete: A botanical and ethnopharmacological review. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 131(2):229–241 — Přehled historie od antiky, složení silice (karvakrol) a předklinických dat.
Related
Dittany of Crete — Herb card
Herbal infusion (tea) — Processing method detail