title: Antimicrobial action of essential oils: the effect of dimethylsulphoxide on the activity of cinnamon oil.
abstract: Fifty-one essential oils extracted from plants of known origin were tested for their antimicrobial activity against three bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and four yeasts, Torulopsis utilis, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae using the drop diffusion method. All showed antimicrobial activity against at least one of the micro-organisms. Following this preliminary screening, 13 essential oils showing antimicrobial activity against at least five of the micro-organisms were tested in the range 50 micrograms ml-1 to 500 micrograms ml-1 using broth micro dilution techniques with dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO) as a dispersing solvent. The concentration of most of the oils required for total inhibition of growth was > 500 micrograms ml-1. Further studies on the antimicrobial action of cinnamon oil in the range 10-150 micrograms ml-1 showed that 50-fold higher activity was found when no dispersing solvent was used.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Westminster, London, UK.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hili
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Veness
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D002175:Candida / Q000187:drug effects; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000187:drug effects; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000187:drug effects; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000187:drug effects; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000187:drug effects; D012997:Solvents; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects; D015003:Yeasts / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D010938:Plant Oils; D012997:Solvents; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide