Antimicrobial Screening of Mentha piperita Essential Oils

Abstract

Essential oils of peppermint Mentha piperita L. (Lamiaceae), which are used in flavors, fragrances, and pharmaceuticals, were investigated for their antimicrobial properties against 21 human and plant pathogenic microorganisms. The bioactivity of the oils menthol and menthone was compared using the combination of in vitro techniques such as microdilution, agar diffusion, and bioautography. It was shown that all of the peppermint oils screened strongly inhibited plant pathogenic microorganisms, whereas human pathogens were only moderately inhibited. Chemical compositions of the oils were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Using the bioautography assay, menthol was found to be responsible for the antimicrobial activity of these oils.

Susceptibilities of Candida albicans Mouth Isolates to Antifungal Agents, Essentials Oils and Mouth Rinses

“…Besides cinnamon, other essential oils exhibited high efficacy, as laurel and mint. Both plants have high concentrations of 1,8-cineole, in association with other substances, for instance, menthol in the case of peppermint oil, which has been indicated as an antimicrobial agent [39,40]. Ezzat [38], who investigated the antifungal ability of several essential oils by the DD method, found that Mentha piperita had activity against C. albicans, a similar result obtained in our work.…”

“…This work evaluated the anti-candidial activity of eight plant essential oils usually presents on mouthwashes and toothpastes, and with their antimicrobial properties recognized [15,[36][37][38][39][40]. Our results showed that the isolates susceptibilities to oils differed among them, except between laurel and mint (P [ 0.05).…”

GC-MS fingerprints of mint essential oils

“…Mentha leaves, flowers and stems are used in traditional medicine as spasmolytics, antibacterial agents, promoters of gastric secretions, and relief for heavy colds. Mint has been also used in treatments of minor aches and sprains, as well as in nasal decongestants [3][4][5][6][7][8].…”

“…Aromatic essential oils are complex mixtures of volatile secondary plant metabolites characterized by strong odor [7]. They are primarily monoterpene and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, their oxygenated derivatives, a variety of aliphatic oxygenated compounds, and a few aromatic compounds [10].…”

“…They have significant antioxidant and antitumor action, and some antiallergenic potential [7,9,10,[12][13][14][15].…”