Review Article

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

Table 2

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

MAPsPart usedMajor chemical compoundsInhibited microorganismsReferences

Aegle marmelosLeaves-Cadinene, -carene, -pineneCandida albicans, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxysporum[36]

Artemisia biennisAerial parts(Z)--Ocimene, (E)-beta-farnesene, acetylenes, (Z)- and (E)-en-yn-dicycloethersCryptococcus neoformans, Fonsecaea pedrosoi, A. niger[21]

Cinnamomum zeylanciumBark, leavesCinnamaldehydeC. albicans, C. parapsilosis, C. krusei[23, 24]

Coriandrum sativumLeaves2E-Decenal, decanal, 2E-decen-1-ol, n-decanolC. albicans[26, 27]

Daucus littoralisLeaves, stems, roots, flowers, fruitsGermacrene D, acorenone BC. albicans[80]

Dracocephalum foetidumLeavesn-Mentha-1,8-dien-10-al, limonene, geranial, neralC. albicans[32]

EremanthuserythropappusLeaves(Z)-Caryophyllene, germacrene D, viridiflorol, p-cymene, -terpineneC. albicans, C. gattii, C. gattii, C. neoformans, S. cerevisiae[33]

Euphrasia rostkovianaEssential oiln-Hexadecanoic acid, thymol, myristic acid, linaloolC. albicans[35]

Feoniculum vulgareSeedTrans-anethole, methylchavicol, limoneneAlternaria alternata, F. oxysporum, A. flavus[81]

Fortunella margaritaLeavesGurjunene, eudesmol, muuroleneA. niger, C. albicans[36]

Glechon spathulataLeaves-Caryophyllene, bicyclogermacreneTrichophyton rubrum, Epidermophyton floccosum[82]

Glechon marifoliaLeaves-Caryophyllene, bicyclogermacreneT. rubrum, E. floccosum[82]

Lippia sidoidesLeavesThymol and carvacrolC. albicans[39]

Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree oil)Essential oilTerpinen-4-ol, 1,8-cineole, -terpinene, -terpinene, terpinoleneAlternaria spp. A. flavus, A. fumigates, A. niger, Blastoschizomyces Capitatus, C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, Cladosporium spp., C. neoformans, Epidermophyton floccosum, Fusarium spp., Malassezia furfur, Microsporum canis, M. sympodialis, M. gypseum, Penicillium spp., Rhodotorula rubra, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, T. rubrum, T. tonsurans, Trichosporon spp.[42, 81, 83, 84]

Mentha pulegiumArial partPiperitone, piperitenone, α-terpineol pulegoneA. niger, C. albicans, C. zemplinina, Kloeckera apiculata, Metschnikowia pulcherrima, Tetrapisispora phaffii[30, 41]

Momordica charantiaSeedTrans-nerolidol, apiole, cis-dihydrocarveol, germacrene DC. albicans[44]

Myrtus communis LeavesEugenol, -terpineol, γ-terpinene, -caryophylleneC. albicans, A. flavus[45, 8587]

Nigella sativaSeedsThymoquinone, p-cymene, -thujene, thymohydroquinone, longifoleneA.  flavus, Fusarium moniliforme, F.  graminearum, P.  viridicatum[46, 62]

Ocimum species (Ocimum basilicum, Ocimum gratissimum, O. kilimandscharicum, O. lamiifolium, O. suave)Leaves, flowerEugenol, methyl eugenol, cis-ocimene, trans-ocimene, -pinene camphorC. albicans, C. tropicalis, C. glabrata, P. notatum, R. stolonifer, M. mucedo, A. ochraceus, A. versicolor, A. niger, A. fumigates, T. viride, P. funiculosum[26, 27, 47, 48, 57]

Origanum vulgareLeaves, arial partCarvacrol, thymol, -terpinene, trans-sabinene hydrate, cis-piperitol, borneol, terpinen-4-ol, linaloolC. albicans, A. niger, M. gypseum, M. canis, A. cajetani, T. violaceum, T. mentagrophytes, E. floccosum, T. rubrum, T. tonsurans, phytopathogens B. cinerea and P. oryzae[52, 56, 88]

Pelargonium graveolensLeavesCitronellol, citronellyl formate, geraniolC. tropicalis[89]

Plectranthus barbatus and P. amboinicusLeaves(Z)-Caryophyllene, germacrene D, viridiflorol, p-cymene, -terpineneC. albicans, C. gattii, C. gattii, C. neoformans, S. cerevisiae.[4, 33]

Pogostemon cablin LeavesPatchoulol, -guaieno; gurjunene-, -guaiene, aromadendrene, -patchouleneAspergillus species, C. albicans[1, 90, 91]

Rosmarinus officinalisLeavesCamphor, camphene, limonene, geraniol, myrcene, linalool benzaylacetate, linalool, -pinene, -terpinolene, bornyl acetate, borneolC. albicans, M. gypseum, M. canis, A. cajetani, T. violaceum, T. mentagrophytes, E. floccosum, T. rubrum, T. tonsurans, phytopathogens B. cinerea, P. oryzae[65, 88]

Salvia sclareaArial partLinalool, linalyl acetate, geranyl acetate, - ocimene acetate, caryophyllene oxideC. albicans, C. tropicalis, C. krusei, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis [39, 84]

Syzygium aromaticum LeavesEugenol, eugenylacetateA. fumigatus, C. albicans, Candida spp.[25, 92]