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Review
. 2016 Jul 28;3(3):19.
doi: 10.3390/medicines3030019.

Essential Oils and Their Components as Modulators of Antibiotic Activity against Gram-Negative Bacteria

Petruta Aelenei  1   2 , Anca Miron  3 , Adriana Trifan  4 , Alexandra Bujor  5 , Elvira Gille  6 , Ana Clara Aprotosoaie  7
Affiliations
Review

Essential Oils and Their Components as Modulators of Antibiotic Activity against Gram-Negative Bacteria

Petruta Aelenei et al. Medicines (Basel). .

Abstract

Gram-negative bacteria cause infections that are difficult to treat due to the emergence of multidrug resistance. This review summarizes the current status of the studies investigating the capacity of essential oils and their components to modulate antibiotic activity against Gram-negative bacteria. Synergistic interactions are particularly discussed with reference to possible mechanisms by which essential oil constituents interact with antibiotics. Special emphasis is given to essential oils and volatile compounds that inhibit efflux pumps, thus reversing drug resistance in Gram-negative bacteria. In addition, indifference and antagonism between essential oils/volatile compounds and conventional antibiotics have also been reported. Overall, this literature review reveals that essential oils and their purified components enhance the efficacy of antibiotics against Gram-negative bacteria, being promising candidates for the development of new effective formulations against Gram-negative bacteria.

Keywords: Gram-negative bacteria; antibiotics; essential oils; multidrug-resistance; synergistic interactions.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Essential oil components acting synergistically with conventional antibiotics against Gram-negative bacteria.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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