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

Table 1

Chemical composition of various essential oils and their antibacterial activity against human pathogens.

MAPs	Part used	Major chemical compounds	Inhibited microorganisms	References
Achillea clavennae	Leaves and flowers	Camphor, myrcene, 1,8-cineole, -caryophyllene, linalool, geranyl acetate	Klebsiella pneumonia, Streptococcus pneumonia, Haemophilus influenzae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa	[18]
Achillea fragrantissima	Aerial parts	Yomogi alcohol, 1,8-cineole, artemisia alcohol, thujone	Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli	[19]
Achillea ligustica	Aerial parts	Viridiflorol, terpinen-4-ol	Streptococcus mutans	[20]
Artemisia absinthium	Aerial parts	Myrcene, trans-thujone, trans-sabinyl acetate	E. coli, S. aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis	[21]
Artemisia biennis	Aerial parts	(Z)-Beta-ocimene, (E)-beta-farnesene, acetylenes, (Z)- and (E)-En-yn-dicycloethers	E. coli, S. aureus, S. epidermidis	[21]
Artemisia cana	Aerial parts	Santolina triene, alpha-pinene, camphene	E. coli, S. aureus, S. epidermidis	[21]
Artemisia dracunculus	Aerial parts	Methylchavicol, methyl eugenol, beta-phellandrene, terpinolene	E. coli, S. aureus, S. epidermidis, Brochothrix thermosphacta, Listeria innocua, L. monocytogenes, Pseudomonas putida, Shewanella putrefaciens	[21, 22]
Artemisia longifolia	Aerial parts	Alpha-pinene, camphene, 1,8-cineole	E. coli, S. aureus, S. epidermidis	[21]
Artemisia frigida	Aerial parts	1,8-Cineole, methylchavicol, camphor	E. coli, S. aureus, S. epidermidis	[21]
Cinnamomum zeylancium	Bark, leaves	Cinnamaldehyde	Enterobacteriaceae, S. aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, S. pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecalis, E. faecium, Bacillus cereus, Acinetobacter lwoffii, Enterobacter aerogenes, E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, P. aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium, Clostridium perfringens, Mycobacterium smegmatis	[23, 24]
Copaifera officinalis	Essential oil	-Caryophyllene, -bisabolene, germacrene B, -copaene, germacrene D, -humulene, -cadinene	S. aureus, E. coli	[25]
Coriandrum sativum	Leaves	2E-Decenal, decanal, 2E-decen-1-ol, n-decanol	S. aureus, Bacillus spp., E. coli, Salmonella typhi, K. pneumonia, Proteus mirabilis, P. aeruginosa	[26, 27]
Cuminum cyminum	Leaves	-Terpin-7-al, -terpinene, -pinene, cuminaldehyde	S. typhimurium, E. coli	[28]
Cymbopogon citratus	Fruit	Ethanolic compounds	Enterobacteriaceae, S. aureus	[29]
Cymbopogon nardus	Leaves, stems	2-Carene, beta-citronellal	Brochothrix thermosphacta, E. coli, Listeria innocua, L. monocytogenes, P. putida, S. typhimurium, S. putrefaciens	[22]
Cyperus longus	Arial part	-Himachalene, -humulene, -himachalene	S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, L. monocytogenes, E. faecium, S. Enteritidis, E. coli, P. aeruginosa	[30]
Daucus littoralis	Leaves, stems, roots, flowers, fruits	Germacrene D, acorenone B	S. aureus, E. coli	[31]
Dracocephalum foetidum	Leaves	n-Mentha-1,8-dien-10-al, limonene, geranial, neral	B. subtilis, S. aureus, M.luteus, E. hirae, S. mutans, E. coli	[32]
Eremanthus erythropapps	Leaves	(Z)-Caryophyllene, germacrene D, viridiflorol, p-cymene, -terpinene	S. epidermidis	[33]
Eugenia caryophyllata	Flower buds	Phenylpropanoids such as carvacrol, thymol, eugenol, cinnamaldehyde	S. epidermidis	[34]
Euphrasia rostkoviana	Essential oil	n-Hexadecanoic acid, thymol, myristic acid, linalool	E. faecalis, E. coli, K. pneumoniae, S. aureus, S. epidermidis, P. aeruginosa	[35]
Foeniculum vulgare	Leaves	Trans-anethole, methylchavicol, limonene	S. typhimurium, E. coli	[28]
Fortunella margarita	Leaves	Gurjunene, eudesmol, muurolene	B. subtilis, S. aureus, Sarcina luta, S. faecalis, E. coli, K. pneumonia, P. aeruginosa	[36]
Juniperus phoenicea	Arial part	-Pinene, -phellandrene, -terpinyl acetate	S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, L. monocytogenes, E. faecium, S. Enteritidis, E. coli, P. aeruginosa	[30]
Laurus nobilis	Arial part	Eucalyptol (1,8-cineole), linalool	Mycobacterium smegmatis, E. coli	[37]
Lavandula x intermedia “Provence” (Blue Lavandin) (a cross between L. angustifolia, L. Latifolia)	Arial part	Camphor, eucalyptol (1,8-cineole), linalool, -pinene, -pinene	M. smegmatis, E. coli	[37]
Juniperus excelsa	Leaves and twigs	-Pinene, -cedrol, -car-3-ene	S. aureus	[38]
Lippia sidoides	Leaves	Thymol and carvacrol	S. mutans, S. sanguis, S. salivarius, S. mitis	[39]
Mentha piperita	Arial part		S. aureus, S. typhimurium, V. parahaemolyticus	[40]
Mentha pulegium	Arial part	Piperitone, piperitenone, -terpineol, pulegone	S. aureus, S. epidermidis, B. cereus, L. monocytogenes, E. coli, S. typhimurium, V. cholera, L. monocytogenes, E. faecium, S. Enteritidis	[30]
Mentha suaveolens	Arial part	Pulegone, piperitone, cis-cis-p-menthenolide, limonene germacrene	Lactococcus lactis subsp. Lactis, S. xylosus	[41]
Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree oil)	Essential oil	Terpinen-4-ol, 1,8-cineole, -terpinene, -terpinene, terpinolene	E. coli, S. aureus, S. epidermidis, E. faecalis, P. aeruginosa, M. avium, H. influenzae, S. pyogenes, S. pneumonia	[42, 43]
Momordica charantia	Seed	Trans-nerolidol, apiole, cis-dihydrocarve,ol germacrene D	E. coli, S. aureus	[44]
Myrtus communis	Leaves	Eugenol, -terpineol, -terpinene	S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, E. durans, Salmonella Typhi, E. coli, B. subtilis, M. tuberculosis, P. aeruginosa, K. pneumonia, M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis, E. cloacae	[30, 45]
Nigella sativa	Seeds	Thymoquinone, p-cymene, -thujene, thymohydroquinone, longifolene	S.  aureus, B.  cereus, E. coli, P. aeruginosa	[46]
Ocimum gratissimum	Leaves	Eugenol, methyl eugenol, cis-ocimene, trans-ocimene, -pinene, camphor	S. aureus, Bacillus spp. E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. typhi, K. pneumoniae, P. mirabilis, E. cloacae	[26, 47]
Ocimum kilimandscharicum	Flowers and leaves	Eugenol, borneol, linalool, methyl eugenol	B. subtilis, S. aureus, Citrobacter youngae, E. coli, Klebsiella spp., Micrococcus spp., Proteus spp., Pseudomonas spp., Salmonella spp.	[48]
Origanum vulgare	Leaves, Arial part	Carvacrol, thymol, -terpinene, trans-sabinene hydrate, cis-piperitol, borneol, terpinen-4-ol, linalool	Clostridium botulinum, C. perfringens, L. monocytogenes, E. coli, S. choleraesuis, S. typhimurium, S. aureus, B. subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Shigella sonnei, Sarcina lutea, M. flavus, K. pneumoniae, K. oxytoca	[49–56]
Ocimum basilicum	Leaves, stems	-Terpinene, methylchavicol	Brochothrix thermosphacta, E. coli, L. innocua, L. monocytogenes, P. putida, S. typhimurium, S. putrefaciens, M. flavus	[22, 57]
Petroselinum sativum	Leaves, stems	Myristicin, apiol, 1,2,3,4-tetramethoxy-5-(2-propenyl)- benzene	B. thermosphacta, E. coli, L. innocua, L. monocytogenes, P. putida, S. typhimurium, S. putrefaciens	[22]
Piper nigrum	Essential oil	Limonene, -3-carene, -pinene, -caryophyllene, -pinene, sabinene, -felandeno, myrcene, para-cymene, linalool, terpinolene, -selinene, 1,8 cineole, -terpinene, -humulene, -copaene, eugenol, terpinen-4-ol, camphene, safrole	S. aureus, E. coli	[25]
Pimpinella anisum	Seed	Trans-anethole	S. typhimurium, E. coli	[58]
Plectranthus barbatus	Leaves	(Z)-Caryophyllene, germacrene D, viridiflorol, p-cymene, -terpinene	S. epidermidis	[4, 33]
P. amboinicus	Leaves	(Z)-Caryophyllene, germacrene D, viridiflorol, p-cymene, -terpinene	S. epidermidis	[4, 33]
Plectranthus neochilus	Leaves	-Pinene, -pinene, trans-caryophyllene, caryophyllene oxide	E. faecalis, S. salivarius, S. sobrinus, S. sanguinis, S. mitis, L. casei, S. mutans	[4, 59]
Pogostemon cablin	Leaves	Patchoulol, -guaieno; gurjunene-, -guaiene, aromadendrene, -patchoulene	K. pneumonia, H. pylori, E. coli, B. subtilis, S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, E. faecalis	[1, 60–64]
Rosmarinus officinalis	Leaves, flower	Camphor, camphene, limonene, geraniol, myrcene, linalool benzoylacetate, linalool, -pinene, -terpinolene, bornyl acetate, borneol	E. coli, S. typhimurium, B. cereus, Bacillus subtilis, S. aureus, S. agalactiae, S. epidermidis, S. aureus, P. vulgaris, P. aeruginosa, K. pneumonia, E. faecalis, B. thermosphacta, L. innocua, L. monocytogenes, P. putida, S. typhimurium, S. putrefaciens, M. smegmatis	[22, 37, 65, 66]
Satureja hortensis	Arial part	Carvacrol, thymol, -terpinene	C. botulinum, C. perfringens,	[49]
Salvia sclarea	Arial part	Linalool, linalyl acetate, geranyl acetate, - ocimene acetate, caryophyllene oxide	S. aureus, S. agalactiae, S. epidermis, E. coli, Proteus vulgaris, P. aeruginosa, K. pneumonia, E. faecalis, B. pumilus, B. subtilis, S. typhimurium	[67–70]
Salvia officinalis	Arial part	-Thujone, camphor, 1,8-cineole, -pinene	S. aureus, P. stuartii, P. stuartii, E. coli, Shigella sonnei, Sarcina lutea, M. flavus, B. thermosphacta, E. coli, L. innocua, L. monocytogenes	[17, 22, 70]
Salvia lavandulifolia	Essential oil	Camphor, -thujone, beta-thujone, camphene, -pinene, terpineol	P. vulgaris, P. aeruginosa, K. pneumonia, E. faecalis	[68, 70]
Satureja cuneifolia	Aerial parts	Carvacrol and p-cymene	E. coli, Campylobacter jejuni, S. sonnei, S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, B. cereus, P. aeruginosa, S. enteritidis	[71]
Struchium sparganophora	Leaves	-Caryophyllene, germacrene A, -humulene, germacrene D	S. typhi, B. cereus, P. mirabilis, P. aeruginosa, B. subtilis	[72]
Syzygium aromaticum	Leaves, flower bud	Eugenol, eugenylacetate	P. aeruginosa, Enterobacteriaceae	[22, 25]
Syzygium cumini	Leaves	-Pinene, -pinene, trans- caryophyllene, 1,3,6-octatriene, delta-3-carene, -caryophyllene, -limonene	E. coli, S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, N. gonorrhoeae, B. subtilis, S. aureus	[73]
Trachyspermum ammi	Seeds	—	K. pneumoniae, E. coli, S. aureus	[74]
Thymus vulgaris	Arial part	Thymol, linalool, carvacrol, 1,8-cineole, eugenol, camphor, camphene, -pinene, borneol, -pinene	L. monocytogenes, E. coli,S. typhimurium, S. aureus, C. botulinum, C. perfringens, S.  sonnei, S. lutea, M.  flavus, B. thermosphacta, L. innocua, L. monocytogenes, P. putida, S. putrefaciens	[22, 40, 49, 53, 54, 75, 76]
Thymus zygis	Essential oil	—	S. choleraesuis, S. typhimurium, E. coli	[50]
Thymus mastichina	Leaves, stems	m-Thymol, carvacrol, trans-caryophyllene	B. thermosphacta, E. coli, L. innocua, L. monocytogenes, P. putida, S. typhimurium, S. putrefaciens	[22]
Thymus kotschyanus	Arial part	Carvacrol, 1,8 cineole, thymol, borneol, E-caryophyllene	S. aureus, S. epidermidis, B. cereus, E. coli	[77]
Thuja sp. (Thuja plicata, Thuja occidentalis)	Essential oil	Alpha-thujone and beta-thujone	P. aeruginosa, K. pneumoniae, S. aureus, E. coli	[68]
Verbena officinalis	Arial part	Borneol, geranoil	S. aureus, E. coli, S. typhimurium, L. monocytogenes	[78]
Warionia saharae	Arial part	-Eudesmol, trans-nerolidol, linalool, 1,8 cineole, camphor, p-cymene, terpinen-4-ol	S. aureus, B. cereus, P. aeruginosa, E. coli	[79]