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Physicians assessed that 58 of 67 patients on oral essential oil capsules had avoided antibiotics, and 89 percent of those patients would use the capsules again for their next sore throat.
Patients with acute sore throat obtained symptom relief from five days of oral essential oil capsules, a standardized food supplement of measured volatile plant oils taken by mouth, equal to the relief from ten days of penicillin V. Nine in ten improved within three days on either treatment. Their physicians assessed afterward that 58 of the 67 capsule patients had avoided antibiotics, and 89 percent would use the same capsules again for a future sore throat. The capsule course ran five days, half the length of the antibiotic course. Viruses cause 70 to 95 percent of acute pharyngotonsillitis, an inflammation of the throat and tonsils.
9 in 10 Oral Essential Oil Patients Improved Within Three Days
Seven general practitioners in Madrid, Granada, Malaga, and Cadiz divided 97 adults into three treatment groups. Thirty patients took penicillin V, a beta lactam antibiotic, at 500 milligrams twice daily for ten days. Thirty-three took Oleobiotic Salud Respiratoria at one capsule three times daily with meals for five days, and 34 took the same product at twice that dose. Patients scored their throat pain daily on a 0 to 10 scale. By the third day, 88 percent of the standard-dose capsule patients and 91 percent of the double-dose capsule patients reported less pain than at enrollment, against 100 percent of the penicillin V patients. No significant difference separated the three groups at three days, five days, or ten days. Pranarom International manufactures Oleobiotic Salud Respiratoria as an oral food supplement. Three capsules deliver 450 milligrams of essential oils.
58 of 67 Oral Essential Oil Patients Recovered Without Antibiotics
Treating physicians assessed that 87.9 percent of the standard-dose capsule patients and 85.3 percent of those on the double dose had recovered without antibiotics. Most carried viral infections, which do not respond to penicillin V.
These physicians had a treatment to offer the patient who arrived expecting an antibiotic prescription. They reserved penicillin V for anyone scoring three or four points on Centor or McIsaac, a four-point clinical checklist for streptococcal risk.
The Double Dose Produced No Additional Relief
Patients on six capsules a day reported no more relief than those on three. On general condition, a second 0 to 10 scale covering overall wellbeing rather than throat pain alone, 91 percent of the standard-dose group improved by day three against 82 percent on the double dose. Throat pain scores in the two groups finished within three points of each other.
Clinicians should prescribe one capsule of Oleobiotic Salud Respiratoria three times daily with meals. The double schedule triples the cost without improving the outcome.
Few patients presented with fever. Body temperature declined across all three groups over the ten days, though the investigators excluded anyone above 38 degrees Celsius at enrollment, and most entrants measured below 37.5 degrees.
10 of 97 Patients Reported A Mild Reaction And All Recovered
Four of the 30 penicillin V patients reported an adverse reaction, as did six of the 67 on capsules. All ten described digestive complaints that resolved without further treatment. The investigators excluded patients with known penicillin allergy, which removes the most common category of antibiotic adverse events from the comparison.
Clinicians should direct patients to take each capsule with a meal, as the study protocol required.
89 Percent of Patients Would Use The Capsules Again For Their Next Sore Throat
Across both capsule groups, 89.1 percent said they would take Oleobiotic Salud Respiratoria again the next time they developed acute sore throat. Partial rather than full satisfaction came from 15.2 percent of the standard-dose patients and 11.8 percent of those on the double dose, while most physicians reported satisfaction with all three treatments. Patients with acute sore throat commonly stop taking a prescribed course once their symptoms ease. A five-day course ends before most reach that point.
Download the full peer-reviewed study, with every figure, the complete dosing, and the safety data.
Source
Ciprandi G, Varricchio A, Study Group on Respiratory Infection Management in Clinical Practice. Oral essential oil therapy for managing patients with acute pharyngotonsillitis in primary care setting: a real-world experience. Otorhinolaryngology 2025;75(4):113-9. The authors published the paper open access under CC BY-NC 4.0 at https://doi.org/10.23736/S2724-6302.25.02594-0. License terms appear at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. The Journal reproduces the PDF on this page without modification.
