Scientific rational for the medical application of ozonized oils, an up-date

Background: why ozonated oils drew renewed medical interest

The spread of microorganisms that resist conventional antibiotics has pushed researchers to look again at older antimicrobial agents. Ozonated oils - vegetable oils such as sunflower, olive or jojoba that have been reacted with ozone - are one of the candidates. When ozone reacts with the unsaturated fatty acids in these oils it forms a family of stable oxidation products, including ozonides and peroxides, which can be stored and formulated for clinical use. This review sets out the scientific reasoning behind their medical application and updates the earlier literature on how they are made, characterised and used.

Study design: a narrative review spanning more than a century of literature

The paper is a single-author narrative review rather than a clinical trial. It draws together scientific and clinical publications reaching from 1859 to 2020, covering the chemistry of the reaction between ozone and fatty acids, the compounds that reaction produces, the ways ozonated oils are prepared and quality-checked (for example by measuring the peroxide value as a marker of dose and stability), and the clinical fields in which they have been applied. It does not carry out a systematic search, a formal appraisal of study quality, or a pooled statistical analysis, and it does not report new experimental data.

Findings: broad antimicrobial activity and mainly topical uses

The review reports that the oxidation compounds formed when ozone reacts with fatty acids behave as germicides, as stimulants of the immune response, and as agents that support tissue repair. Across the literature surveyed, ozonated preparations are described as having a broad antimicrobial spectrum, effects that are similar to or greater than some traditional antibiotics in the settings studied, a comparatively low rate of adverse events, and a lower cost. The stability of well-made preparations is presented as an advantage that allows conventional formulations to be developed. The applications documented are predominantly topical, concentrated in dermatology, dentistry, ophthalmology and gynaecology.

What the author concluded

The author concludes that ozonated oils have a plausible scientific basis for use as topical antimicrobial and tissue-repair agents, but that this depends on standardised, stable formulations with proper quality control, including characterisation of the peroxide value. External uses in dermatology, dentistry, ophthalmology and gynaecology are described as the best supported. Oral and other systemic uses are presented as promising but not yet established, and the author calls for further clinical trials using standardised preparations before the therapeutic scope is widened.

Limitations of this study

As a narrative review by a single author, the paper does not use a systematic, reproducible search or a structured assessment of the quality of the studies it cites, so it cannot weigh the strength of the evidence or estimate the size of any effect. Much of the supporting work is laboratory or in vitro research, or small clinical series, rather than large randomised controlled trials. The article appeared in a specialist ozone-therapy journal and does not carry a DOI, which limits independent indexing. Ozonated oils should be regarded as a complementary, supportive option, and their use for any specific condition should be discussed with a qualified healthcare professional.