Origanum dictamus (dictamus) extract*

Patented ingredient with panacea properties. It was used in medicine in ancient Greece for its its healing and antiinflammatory properties, to ease stomach aches and complaints of the digestive system. Studies show that it is an excellent antioxidant trapping free radicals which are responsible for the ageing of the skin. It also has antibacterial properties contributing to the stability of the cosmetics formulations.

The plant

Dictamo Origanum dictamnus (Dittany of Crete or Hop Marjoram)

Known in Greek as “δίκταμο” or in Cretan dialect “έρωντας” (love), is a tender
perennial plant that grows 20-30 cm (8-12 in) high.

It is indigenous to Crete, Greece, where it symbolizes birth and love. Its local name in Crete (“love”) is due to the fact that it likes to grow in very steep slopes on the rocky mountains of Crete. The young men used to show their courage and their love to their beloved ones by risking their lives picking it up and offering it to them.

It was used in medicine in Ancient Greece for its pharmaceutical properties on
stomach aches and complaints of the digestive system. Hippocrates in “The nature of Woman” recognized the cicatrical (epoulotic) and antiinflammatory properties of dictamo and is recommending it to help birth giving. Aristotles in “The history of animals” points out that wild beasts used to eat it to help them heal themselves when injured by hunters. The plant is also mentioned by Dioscorides.

In the fantasy novel Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, dittany is the name of a substance which, when used magically, can prevent scarring if applied quickly enough after a cutting injury.

The dictamo used in BIOselect products is free ranged, naturaly grown on the mountains of the island of Crete and hand picked.