Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Jun 5;24(11):2130.
doi: 10.3390/molecules24112130.

Essential Oils as Antimicrobial Agents-Myth or Real Alternative?

Katarzyna Wińska  1 , Wanda Mączka  2 , Jacek Łyczko  3 , Małgorzata Grabarczyk  4 , Anna Czubaszek  5 , Antoni Szumny  6
Affiliations
Review

Essential Oils as Antimicrobial Agents-Myth or Real Alternative?

Katarzyna Wińska et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Herbs and the essential oils derived from them have been used from the beginning of human history for different purposes. Their beneficial properties have been applied to mask unpleasant odors, attract the attention of other people, add flavor and aroma properties to prepared dishes, perfumes, and cosmetics, etc. Herbs and essential oils (EOs) have also been used in medicine because of their biological properties, such as larvicidal action, analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, antioxidant, fungicide, and antitumor activities, and many more. Many EOs exhibit antimicrobial properties, which is extremely important in fields of science and industry, such as medicine, agriculture, or cosmetology. Among the 250 EOs which are commercially available, about a dozen possess high antimicrobial potential. According to available papers and patents, EOs seem to be a potential alternative to synthetic compounds, especially because of the resistance that has been increasingly developed by pathogenic microorganisms. In this review we summarize the latest research studies about the most-active EOs that are known and used because of their antimicrobial properties. Finally, it is noteworthy that the antimicrobial activities of EOs are not preeminent for all strains. Further investigations should, thus, focus on targeting EOs and microorganisms.

Keywords: antibacterial activity; antifungal activity; cajuput oil; cinnamon oil; clove oil; essential oils; eucalyptus oil; lavender oil; peppermint oil; sage oil; tea tree oil; thyme oil.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Mérillon J.-M., Rivière C. Natural Antimicrobial Agents. Springer International Publishing AG; Cham, Switzerland: 2018.
    1. Stringaro A., Colone M., Angiolella L. Antioxidant, antifungal, antibiofilm, and cytotoxic activities of Mentha spp. essential oils. Medicines. 2018;5:112. doi: 10.3390/medicines5040112. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Deryng J. Nowy aparat do oznaczanie olejków w materiale roślinnym. Acta Pol. Pharm. 1951;8:121–136.
    1. Arora R., Singh B., Vig A.P., Arora S. Conventional and modified hydrodistillation method for the extraction of glucosinolate hydrolytic products: A comparative account. SpringerPlus. 2016;5:479. doi: 10.1186/s40064-016-2021-z. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Baj T., Sieniawska E., Kowalski R., Wesolowski M., Ulewicz-Magulska B. Effectiveness of the deryng and clevenger-type apparatus in isolation of various types of components of essential oil from the Mutelina purpurea Thell. flowers. Acta Pol. Pharm. 2015;72:507–515. - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources