title: Antimicrobial activity of eugenol and essential oils containing eugenol: A mechanistic viewpoint.
abstract: Eugenol is a hydroxyphenyl propene, naturally occurring in the essential oils of several plants belonging to the Lamiaceae, Lauraceae, Myrtaceae, and Myristicaceae families. It is one of the major constituents of clove (Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. & L.M. Perry, Myrtaceae) oil and is largely used in both foods and cosmetics as a flavoring agent. A large body of recent scientific evidence supports claims from traditional medicine that eugenol exerts beneficial effects on human health. These effects are mainly associated with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Eugenol has also shown excellent antimicrobial activity in studies, being active against fungi and a wide range of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. The aim of this review is to analyze scientific data from the main published studies describing the antibacterial and antifungal activities of eugenol targeting different kind of microorganisms, such as those responsible for human infectious diseases, diseases of the oral cavity, and food-borne pathogens. This article also reports the effects of eugenol on multi-drug resistant microorganisms. On the basis of this collected data, eugenol represents a very interesting bioactive compound with broad spectrum antimicrobial activity against both planktonic and sessile cells belonging to food-decaying microorganisms and human pathogens.
authors.affiliation: a Sezione di Microbiologia DISC-IRCCS San Martino-IST University of Genoa , Genoa , Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marchese
authors.affiliation: b Sezione di Microbiologia DISC University of Genoa , Genoa , Italy.
authors.forename: Ramona
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barbieri
authors.affiliation: b Sezione di Microbiologia DISC University of Genoa , Genoa , Italy.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Coppo
authors.affiliation: c Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy , Gazi University , Ankara , Turkey.
authors.forename: Ilkay Erdogan
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Orhan
authors.affiliation: d Department of Drug Sciences, Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technology Section , University of Pavia , Pavia , Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Daglia
authors.affiliation: e Applied Biotechnology Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Fazel
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Nabavi
authors.affiliation: f Health Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran.
authors.forename: Morteza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Izadi
authors.affiliation: g Toxicology and Diseases Group , Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abdollahi
authors.affiliation: e Applied Biotechnology Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Mohammad
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Nabavi
authors.affiliation: h Faculty of Nutrition Science and Food Technology , National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran.
authors.forename: Marjan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ajami
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000187:drug effects; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D005054:Eugenol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000494:pharmacology*; D027842:Syzygium / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000935:Antifungal Agents; D000975:Antioxidants; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D005054:Eugenol
keywords: Eugenol; antimicrobial activity; diseases of the oral cavity; food-borne pathogens; infectious diseases