Antimicrobial Properties of Plant Essential Oils against Human Pathogens and Their Mode of Action: An Updated Review

A wide range of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) have been explored for their essential oils in the past few decades. Essential oils are complex volatile compounds, synthesized naturally in different plant parts during the process of secondary metabolism. Essential oils have great potential in t...

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Main Authors: Mallappa Kumara Swamy, Mohd Sayeed Akhtar, Uma Rani Sinniah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2016-01-01
Series:Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/3012462
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spelling doaj-5235196dbc6d4e8d9f86e3ce425efcf42020-11-24T22:34:32ZengHindawi LimitedEvidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine1741-427X1741-42882016-01-01201610.1155/2016/30124623012462Antimicrobial Properties of Plant Essential Oils against Human Pathogens and Their Mode of Action: An Updated ReviewMallappa Kumara Swamy0Mohd Sayeed Akhtar1Uma Rani Sinniah2Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, MalaysiaDepartment of Botany, Gandhi Faiz-E-Aam College, Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh 242001, IndiaDepartment of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, MalaysiaA wide range of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) have been explored for their essential oils in the past few decades. Essential oils are complex volatile compounds, synthesized naturally in different plant parts during the process of secondary metabolism. Essential oils have great potential in the field of biomedicine as they effectively destroy several bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens. The presence of different types of aldehydes, phenolics, terpenes, and other antimicrobial compounds means that the essential oils are effective against a diverse range of pathogens. The reactivity of essential oil depends upon the nature, composition, and orientation of its functional groups. The aim of this article is to review the antimicrobial potential of essential oils secreted from MAPs and their possible mechanisms of action against human pathogens. This comprehensive review will benefit researchers who wish to explore the potential of essential oils in the development of novel broad-spectrum key molecules against a broad range of drug-resistant pathogenic microbes.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/3012462
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Mallappa Kumara Swamy
Mohd Sayeed Akhtar
Uma Rani Sinniah
spellingShingle Mallappa Kumara Swamy
Mohd Sayeed Akhtar
Uma Rani Sinniah
Antimicrobial Properties of Plant Essential Oils against Human Pathogens and Their Mode of Action: An Updated Review
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
author_facet Mallappa Kumara Swamy
Mohd Sayeed Akhtar
Uma Rani Sinniah
author_sort Mallappa Kumara Swamy
title Antimicrobial Properties of Plant Essential Oils against Human Pathogens and Their Mode of Action: An Updated Review
title_short Antimicrobial Properties of Plant Essential Oils against Human Pathogens and Their Mode of Action: An Updated Review
title_full Antimicrobial Properties of Plant Essential Oils against Human Pathogens and Their Mode of Action: An Updated Review
title_fullStr Antimicrobial Properties of Plant Essential Oils against Human Pathogens and Their Mode of Action: An Updated Review
title_full_unstemmed Antimicrobial Properties of Plant Essential Oils against Human Pathogens and Their Mode of Action: An Updated Review
title_sort antimicrobial properties of plant essential oils against human pathogens and their mode of action: an updated review
publisher Hindawi Limited
series Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
issn 1741-427X
1741-4288
publishDate 2016-01-01
description A wide range of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) have been explored for their essential oils in the past few decades. Essential oils are complex volatile compounds, synthesized naturally in different plant parts during the process of secondary metabolism. Essential oils have great potential in the field of biomedicine as they effectively destroy several bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens. The presence of different types of aldehydes, phenolics, terpenes, and other antimicrobial compounds means that the essential oils are effective against a diverse range of pathogens. The reactivity of essential oil depends upon the nature, composition, and orientation of its functional groups. The aim of this article is to review the antimicrobial potential of essential oils secreted from MAPs and their possible mechanisms of action against human pathogens. This comprehensive review will benefit researchers who wish to explore the potential of essential oils in the development of novel broad-spectrum key molecules against a broad range of drug-resistant pathogenic microbes.
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/3012462
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AT mohdsayeedakhtar antimicrobialpropertiesofplantessentialoilsagainsthumanpathogensandtheirmodeofactionanupdatedreview
AT umaranisinniah antimicrobialpropertiesofplantessentialoilsagainsthumanpathogensandtheirmodeofactionanupdatedreview
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