Effect of Essential Oils on Pathogenic Bacteria

Overview

Journal Pharmaceuticals (Basel)

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Chemistry

Date 2013 Nov 30

PMID 24287491

Citations 470

Authors

Filomena Nazzaro

Florinda Fratianni

Laura De Martino

Raffaele Coppola

Vincenzo De Feo

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The increasing resistance of microorganisms to conventional chemicals and drugs is a serious and evident worldwide problem that has prompted research into the identification of new biocides with broad activity. Plants and their derivatives, such as essential oils, are often used in folk medicine. In nature, essential oils play an important role in the protection of plants. Essential oils contain a wide variety of secondary metabolites that are capable of inhibiting or slowing the growth of bacteria, yeasts and moulds. Essential oils and their components have activity against a variety of targets, particularly the membrane and cytoplasm, and in some cases, they completely change the morphology of the cells. This brief review describes the activity of essential oils against pathogenic bacteria.

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