Abers Mareshah, Schroeder Sydney, Goelz Linna, Sulser Adrienne, St Rose Tiffany, Puchalski Keely, Langland Jeffrey
Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, The Ric Scalzo Institute for Botanical Research, Tempe, AZ, 85282, USA.
BMC Complement Med Ther. 2021 Apr 17;21(1):124. doi: 10.1186/s12906-021-03285-3.
Essential oils are volatile and lipophilic liquid extracts made from plants as secondary metabolites that can be obtained by distillation. To date, several studies have investigated the direct antimicrobial activity of liquid essential oils. However, this study investigated the antimicrobial properties of the volatile substances present in various essential oils.
A modified zone of inhibition protocol was developed using agar petri dishes with a center glass vial to allow evaporation and aerosolization of the potential active constituents from essential oils. In total, nineteen essential oils were tested against five Gram positive bacterial species, five Gram negative bacterial species and one fungi.
This study found potent antimicrobial activity from the volatile constituents of several essential oils. Rosemary, tea tree, and cassia volatiles were found to be the best broad-spectrum antibacterial agents, whereas clove volatiles had almost no antimicrobial activity.
These results support the anecdotal historical evidence of the antimicrobial activity of the volatile constituents essential oils. Modern medical implications for this work may be related to the use of aromatic essential oils for respiratory or dermatological infections.
精油是从植物中提取的挥发性亲脂性液体提取物，作为次生代谢产物，可通过蒸馏获得。迄今为止，已有多项研究调查了液体精油的直接抗菌活性。然而，本研究调查了各种精油中挥发性物质的抗菌特性。
开发了一种改良的抑菌圈试验方法，使用带有中心玻璃小瓶的琼脂培养皿，以使精油中的潜在活性成分蒸发和气雾化。总共对19种精油针对5种革兰氏阳性菌、5种革兰氏阴性菌和1种真菌进行了测试。
本研究发现几种精油的挥发性成分具有强大的抗菌活性。迷迭香、茶树和桂皮的挥发物被发现是最佳的广谱抗菌剂，而丁香挥发物几乎没有抗菌活性。
这些结果支持了精油挥发性成分抗菌活性的传闻历史证据。这项工作在现代医学上的意义可能与使用芳香精油治疗呼吸道或皮肤感染有关。
